


moral of the story

by cxlesstial



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Bad Parent Splinter (TMNT), Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Family Bonding, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Funny, Gen, Good Older Sibling Leonardo (TMNT), Hurt Michelangelo (TMNT), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protective Donatello (TMNT), Protective Leonardo (TMNT), Protective Raphael (TMNT), Road Trips, THIS IS ALL OVER THE PLACE WLFJSJDKA i am losing my mind, Team Bonding, Team as Family, Texting, YEAH BABY IM PUTTIN SHIPS IN HERE, because they deserve it, help i cannot tag, i love tmnt its an issue, it's like a texting fic but with an actual plot, just warning u now, texting fic!, this is gonna be so much fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:20:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 75,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25412284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cxlesstial/pseuds/cxlesstial
Summary: yeahbuddy: lol ok so i’m drugsyeahbuddy: onfearless leader: mikey its obvious you need sleepyeahbuddy: bro shut the hellup im telling u i was on drugs why arent u madfearless leader: because we’re ninja turtles where are we going to get drugsOR!!; mikey (finally) figures out how to make a groupchat with his family and chaos quickly follows ;)
Relationships: Casey Jones/April O'Neil (TMNT), Donatello & Casey Jones & Leonardo & Michelangelo & April O'Neil & Raphael (TMNT), Donatello & Leonardo & Michelangelo & April O'Neil & Raphael (TMNT), Donatello/April O'Neil (TMNT), Donatello/Casey Jones (TMNT), Donatello/Casey Jones/April O'Neil (TMNT), Karai/Shinigami (TMNT)
Comments: 227
Kudos: 188





	1. mikey makes a gc!

**Author's Note:**

> some things to explain please read (edited, this description is subjected to change at any time)
> 
> most of the events have obviously already happened like the farm and space, but shredder is STILL alive and therefore so is splinter. i won't write sex at all since some people don't like that and in this house i roll w the people! there IS however mentions of sex and cursing (raph has the biggest influence on his family lol) please don't read if that makes u uncomfy 
> 
> okayy i think thats everything i have to mention so uhm!! hey im cel i upload at random times and my writing is so spontaneous and.. #quirky... hope u like it :)

Mikey - yeahbuddy

Donnie - genius

Raph - imgonna end you

Leo - Fearless Leader

April - sis

Casey - village idiot

Splinter - sensei

Karai - stabby stab 

_Mikey added Donnie, Leo, Raph, and 4 others to the chat!_

Leo: Mikey what is this?

Mikey: um

Mikey: it’s a gc :D

Raph: seriously leo are you that braindead

Leo: Raphael! Do not take that tone of voice with me!

Donnie: oh my god no i did not sign up for this

Donnie: can i leave?? i see leo and raph fight enough irl as it is

Mikey: wtf no donnie ur stuck here w us stop complaining

Mikey: also april’s in here too ;)

Donnie: MIKEY 

Donnie: i can’t stand you

Mikey: i love u more

Leo: What’s going on?

Mikey: STOP USING PROPER PUNCTUATION

Mikey: it looks so weird pls

Leo: I’m talking like a regular person?

Mikey: iM TaLkINg LIkE a RegUlaR pErsON

Raph: MIKEY STOPPEWFPO don’t do leo like that

April: hi guys!! omg we have a gc now

Leo: Hello April!

Donnie: hi april :)

Mikey: APEEEE WHATS GOOD

Raph: hey

Casey: i’m assuming all of my notifications are from this 

Casey:oh sweet hey guys

Leo: Hello Casey!

Mikey: leo you sound so stiff

Leo: Mikey, stop insulting the way I type.

Mikey: no

Karai: im muting this omg please shut up

Mikey: karai@?$!$> no DON’T LEAVE

Karai: mikey its 1am.

Mikey: ok and

Donnie: he has a point

Splinter: Hello, my family!

April: hi sensei!

Karai: dad!

Karai: hello!

Leo: Hello Father! 

Mikey: im gonna lose my mind leo stop capitalizing things

Leo: No.

Mikey: 0129u506tj0iowrfksdv ok 

_Mikey changed Mikey’s name to yeahbuddy_

_yeahbuddy changed Leo’s name to idiot_

idiot: Excuse me that’s so inappropriate!

Raph: shut it mf

_yeahbuddy changed Raph’s name to i’mgonna end you_

_yeahbuddy changed Donnie’s name to genius_

_yeahbuddy changed April’s name to sis_

i’mgonna end you: at least it’s accurate

Idiot: Excuse me!!

i’mgonna end you: you’re excused

genius: you’re excused 

i’mgonna end you: DONNIE R2M,3WEKMED HELPLLPES

genius: OUR MINDS!! unmatched

sis: i cant stop laughignjd

_yeahbuddy changed Casey’s name to village idiot_

village idiot: fair

genius: you aren’t even gonna plead your case?

genius: sad <3

village idiot: shut the fuckup donnatello <3

idiot: Stop using profanity in the groupchat!

yeahbuddy: no

genius: no

imgonna end you: no

idiot: You three are totally going to get it tomorrow. 

_yeahbuddy changed Karai’s name to stabby stab_

_yeahbuddy changed Splinter’s name to sensei_

yeahbuddy: done!

yeahbuddy: does everyone like their name :’)

idiot: No.

stabby stab: yes mikey it’s perfect

sis: ^^

idiot: I don’t like my name! 

yeahbuddy: we know, leo. 

idiot: Oh my god I can change my name!

_idiot changed idiot’s name to Fearless Leader_

Fearless Leader: Much better!

i’mgonna end you: i

i’mgonna end you: YOU HATE IT WHEN I CALL YOU THAT

Fearless Leader: Well I don’t hate it when I call myself that!

yeahbuddy: how does that make ANY SENSE

genius: it doesn’t

i’mgonna end you: leo you’re so confusing

Fearless Leader: Thank you! :)

yeahbuddy: oh god he found the emoticons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELWPRFDOSEF IM REREADING THIS LIKE TWO MONTHS AFTER I POSTED IT YALL LET ME WRITE LIKE THIS UMMMM


	2. we won! didn't we?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PEWKAOJSL me writing this while i should be doing spanish homework is such a serve

sis: GUYS COME HERE

genius: hey i’m here what’s up

sis: okay funny story

sis: so i had another vision right

genius: oh god are you okay

sis: yeah i’m fine dw!! but i saw what the kraang are doing

Fearless Leader: Is it anything big? 

sis: yeah they have more of those kraang worm things and they’re planning another invasion 

yeahbuddy: fantastic

yeahbuddy: it was a great TWO days of peace

yeahbuddy: stupid mf kraang and their invasions??!#? this is like the tenth one

sis: GOD I KNOW they never stop

sis: anyway me n casey went to go scout and we found the warehouse where they’re holding the worms

genius: what were you two thinking?? did you get seen?? are you okay??

sis: donnie we’re fine and no we didn’t get seen! casey tripped on the curb but other than that we didn’t get hurt

_genius: oh. thank god you guys are okay i mean_

_Message unsent!_

genius: pfft

village idiot: DONT TELL HIM THAT?@$? APRIL 

sis: IT WAS FUNNY I’M SORRY55NJLM

sis: ok anyway we spied on a few passing kraang and from what we picked up they’re planning on bringing more worms in from dimension x to harvest them and then. flying overhead with the mutagen and mutating the entire city

yeahbuddy: sounds typical for a tuesday! 

imgonna end you: did they say when?

village idiot: no but it sounds like they’re planning to do it soon. i’m guessing either tonight or tomorrow.

Fearless Leader: Then that means we have to act fast! Ninjas suit up and meet me at the turnstiles in two.

sis: can we help?

village idiot: yeah i don’t wanna stay behind again 

Fearless Leader: Don’s gonna track your signal and when he does we can check it out together.

sis: sounds good to me, see you guys soon

_Seen by Fearless Leader, village idiot, genius, yeahbuddy, & imgonna end you at 9:30 pm _

\--

genius: we’re on the west side of the warehouse. so far nothing but a few kraang

Fearless Leader: same with the other side. mikey, casey?

yeahbuddy: our friends showed up over in the front by the door <3

imgonna end you: ...what friends, mikey? 

yeahbuddy: bebop rocksteady rahzar fishface...i don’t see tigerclaw doe where is that mf

village idiot: MIKEY THEY’RE LOOKING OVER HERE PUT THE FUCKING PHONE DOWN

sis: GUYS are u okay?@#?

yeahbuddy: it’s fine they didn’t see me!! 

village idiot: you’re so lucky they didn’t! If i wasn’t there to pull you back down

yeahbuddy: oh shut up casey they weren’t even looking over at us anyway! ur just paranoid 

village idiot: i’m gonna slap you into the next dimension if you keep it up

Fearless Leader: Guys shut up! Can anyone hear what they’re saying? 

genius: i sent one of the spy-roaches in, i’ll patch the audio into the gc hold on

sis: woah you can do that?? cool

imgonna end you: NO not another spy roach! we have bad experiences with those doesn’t anyone remember the one that got mutated

yeahbuddy: ur just scared of them lol

_Connecting…_

_Connection successful! Recording..._

_Rahzar: Are we sure we can trust the Kraang to not mess up this time? Stupid aliens are so unreliable._

_Fishface: It's on us to make sure this plan goes through. If the Kraang screws up again - or god forbid those turtle freaks show up -_

imgonna end you: who does he think he is to call us freaks?

Fearless Leader: Shut up Raph we’re trying to listen!

_Fishface: - Shredder’s gonna cut them off for good._

_Bebop: Now - hold up now, what do you mean by ‘cutting them off for good’?_

_Fishface: Shredder doesn’t want to be associated with them. The Kraang are incompetent! This is their last chance; if anything goes wrong tonight…_

_Rocksteady: Bradford, iz it? You have something on your shoulder._

_Rahzar: This shoulder?_

_Rocksteady: Da._

_Connection lost! Audio recording stopped._

sis: what happened?

genius: they found the spy roach. probably killed it.

village idiot: yeah that big rhino dude just totally ate it whole. lmao that was so gross

Fearless Leader: I think we’ve learned everything from them anyway. Shredder isn’t happy with the Kraang - that’s good news. Nice work, Donnie.

genius: thanks, leo. 

Fearless Leader: We can’t meet up again without gaining attention, so I’m gonna relay the plan through here. Listen carefully, everyone. 

yeahbuddy: do we need a diversion? ;)

Fearless Leader: Yes! Mikey, Raph and I will keep Shredder’s goons undivided attention on us while Donnie, Casey, and April - you three sneak in the back and shut down that warehouse. 

genius: once we’re done we’ll call you. i grabbed a few explosives back at the lair. keep your ringtone at full volume and when you hear it - run.

Fearless Leader: Okay. Let’s do this. 

_Last seen by genius, sis, village idiot, yeahbuddy, & imgonna end you at 11:48 pm _

_-_

_genius calling groupchat - 12:08 am_

_-_

Fearless Leader: Is everyone okay? 

sis: a little bruised, but i’ll be fine!

yeahbuddy: rahzar’s claws got me pretty good near the end :(

genius: i’ll take a look at it when we meet up

village idiot: did you guys see that explosion??

imgonna end you: man that shit was off the walls

Fearless Leader: Language!

imgonna end you: sorry mom 

sis: guys lets go to murakami’s it’s been awhile and casey’s never been

yeahbuddy: sounds like a plan! :D

stabby stab: hey guys sorry i missed the fun

stabby stab: i did some recon on shredder though! tonight was interesting

Fearless Leader: Get down to Murakami’s place we can talk about it there!

yeahbuddy: over pizza gyoza ;)

stabby stab: i’m in!


	3. when pigs fly

5:17 am

yeahbuddy: don

yeahbuddy: donnnn

yeahbuddy: donnieeeee

genius: what mikey

yeahbuddy: my wrist really hurts :((

genius: the cut from rahzar?

yeahbuddy: mhm

yeahbuddy: i can’t sleep 

genius: come down to the lab

8:08 am 

sis: don is mikey okay?

genius: hold on lemme explain what’s happening

genius: okay so this is going to sound really strange, i’m not completely sure how it’s possible

genius: when rahzar cut him last night he had mutagen on his claws 

sis: WHAT

sis: oh my god

sis: why wasn’t he mutating again? i thought if it touches you or your skin you immediately start changing??

genius: that’s what i’m confused about.

genius: it might be because he’s been mutated twice already, or that his claws are something that just can’t be mutated? not sure yet

genius: but what i DO know is that mikey is - very slowly, but it’ll take less than a day - mutating for the second time. that’s why his arm hurt so badly earlier. it’s infected.

village idiot: wow this is fantastic news to wake up to

village idiot: we really can’t have a normal day i hate it here

sis: where’s the others?

genius: sitting with him. karai’s making breakfast

village idiot: how’s mikey doing? like. how’s he taking it?

genius: he hasn’t cracked a joke once and i’m really worried. i asked him to describe it and he kept saying that it was like his bones were reshaping. he’s in agony.

sis: don’t you have the retromutagen?

genius: i only have enough left to slow the mutation down by a couple hours. i used most of it when we took the city back from the kraang (after we got back from the farmhouse).

sis: damn it

sis: oh my god! the canisters! the ones you guys dropped all over the city - how many are left?

genius: around 58, but 

sis: we can go look around for some! we’d only need about 2 canisters to create enough retromutagen, right?

genius: right, but 

village idiot: yeah! totally, we should just do it

genius: YOU GUYS

genius: we can’t go topside?? it’s daylight!

sis: you better be glad you have human friends, then. 

stabby stab: mikey’s eating! leo’s technically feeding him, but he’s eating. 

stabby stab: give me three seconds to get my shoes on and i’ll join you guys up top. 

sis: are you sure karai? i know you’re getting better at controlling your mutant side but

stabby stab: completely. mikey’s more important.

sis: okay then! we’ll be at the park - the one we fought in that one time back when you were with shredder

stabby stab: gotcha

sis: donnie do you have any idea where any canisters are?

genius: i’m sending a mutagen scanner up with karai. when you show up within a half mile of one it’ll show up on the screen. from there you just have to follow the dot and you’ll find it. easy!

village idiot: if it’s so easy why haven’t you gotten them all back? why are they still missing?

genius: we haven’t HAD THE FUCKING TIME, casey! you know this better than anyone. 

village idiot: jeez don, cut it out. it was just a question.

genius: i’m.. sorry, casey. i’m just really worried about mikey.

genius: i just can't lose a family member again. 

village idiot: don, it's okay. i promise. we’ll fix him right up.

sis: just try to relax for a bit!! we'll be back in no time donnie

genius: thank you - all three of you.

sis: we'll be in touch <3

_Last seen by village idiot, genius, & stabby stab at 5:24 am _

\--

_Sis added village idiot and stabby stab to the chat!_

sis: okay, how are we going to do this?

stabby stab: i’ve already found one on the scanner! this is going to be super easy

village idiot: don’t jinx us! shit always goes wrong when we say it's too easy

sis: casey stop acting paranoid! focus, mikey needs us.

sis: we’ll come to you, karai. where are you standing?

stabby stab: corner of maple and main. i’m in the alleyway off to the side, its down there.

sis: oh that’s just two blocks away, we’ll be right there.

stabby stab: we’ve got a problem

sis: oh god, what now?

stabby stab: some teenagers, a little older than us, found the canister. they haven’t figured out how to open it yet but they'll figure it out eventually and probably get mutated. i’d go out and scare them off, but they have cameras - PHONES

stabby stab: with my fangs, idk what to do.

sis: karai, for their safety and mikey’s, i think you need to take this one

sis: we don't want more accidents

village idiot: red’s right. we don’t have time to waste!

stabby stab: you’re right! give me a second.

\--

stabby stab: i got the canister! i think one of the boys got a picture of me but his friend accidentally hit the phone out of his hand and it fell into the street. it got crushed by a pickup truck SDKLJKFF that was funny

stabby stab: i didn’t stay around to see what happened afterwards but we’re safe i think

sis: great job, karai! is donnie’s scanner still working?

stabby stab: yeah, there’s actually three more showing up on the screen. should we split up and take them?

village idiot: OH HELL NO

village idiot: i HATE splitting up you both know this

sis: listen casey it’s daytime. no kraang no shredder and no henchmen during the day. what could go wrong?

villageidiot: actually a lot of things but 

sis: casey just do it

villageidiot: fine 

\--

sis: donnie! DONNIE WE GOT THE CANISTERS! 

genius: holy chalupa y’all really did come through this time!! how many did ya get?

stabby stab: four! we split up to look for them and that’s when things got interesting.

genius: what happened?

village idiot: karai snagged the first canister without any real issue but then we split up to look for the last three! i KNEW it was a bad idea and april jinxed us but whatever

sis: he’s being really dramatic lol the purple dragons have never been that big of a threat

village idiot: not if the whole team isn’t there? fighting them while protecting mutagen canisters is a little different red

villageidiot: do you know how many times the glass almost broke??? I COULD HAVE GOTTEN MUTATED

sis: we still totally owned that and you know it! AND WE GOT THE CANISTERS TOO CASE LIGHTEN UP

villageidiot: we did do pretty awesome..

sis: :D

sis: i see why mikey uses this face! it’s very energetic

genius: great job you guys seriously but can you get down here as quickly as possible? mikey has about three hours before he mutates completely and it takes around two to make the retromutagen. 

stabby stab: yeah yeah we’re at the turnstiles now! see you in a sec

_Last seen by genius, sis, and village idiot at 9:24 am_

-

yeahbuddy: GUYSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

yeahbuddy: APRIL CASEY N KARAI! DONNIE!! THANK U

yeahbuddy: MY SAVIORS I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH :D

sis: aww it’s no problem mikey! how do you feel?

yeahbuddy: donnie managed to completely reverse the mutation with the retromutagen, so… normal! kinda tired and my arm is still supER sore but ill be fine:)

stabby stab: i’m glad! and you don’t have to thank us mikey you’re our family and we want you to be safe

village idiot: ^^ (love you mikey)

genius: ^^^ (love you more than casey does, mikey)

villageidiot: donnie ur such a 

sis: STOP FIGHTING BOYS

Fearless Leader: Hey everyone! Long day, huh?

genius: it’s barely noon and we’ve already had to save a life

imgonna end you: just another normal day

yeahbuddy: next time we go on patrol can we get the rest of the canisters? there’s 54 left but i don’t want this happening again :( plus i’d feel safer if we had them and not shredder or the kraang,, or even some random person?? i don’t want more accidents ksadjhf

Fearless Leader: That makes perfect sense, Mikey. Next time we go up we’ll take a look around and bring as many as we can back to Donnie’s lab. 

imgonna end you: did you figure out why rahzar wasn’t mutated a third time by the mutagen on his claws don?

genius: the most i can tell you is that either his claws aren’t able to be mutated, which i’m doubting

genius: or he found a way to be immune to mutagen - kinda like april is. but not naturally. i’m guessing baxter stockman had something to do with it. 

sis: great. at least he wasn’t able to hurt mikey with it, but jesus christ

sis: they can't let up at all huh

genius: next time we go out or come in contact with them we have to be careful, with the canisters you guys found today i can make another dose of retromutagen, maybe two if i use every last drop. 

genius: but if they try that trick again we won’t have enough to save more than those two people

yeahbuddy: even more reason to find those canisters!! :)

village idiot: don maybe you could make like, an app or something on our t-phones that me and red can use when we’re on topside to search for them? 

imgonna end you: case...that was a really good idea

genius: are we in dimension x? casey i can’t remember when you’ve come with such a great idea like...ever

Fearless Leader: A genius idea!

yeahbuddy: lol are u replacing don as head scientist next

village idiot: STOP I HATE ALL OF YOU

sis: sure, honey

genius: now why do i have such a hard time believing that

village idiot: shut the hell up you two

stabby stab: when pigs fly

village idiot: don’t jinx us! 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PERIODT


	4. manifesting

yeahbuddy: HELLO

yeahbuddy: i have a situation some1 come here asap

genius: oh god what is it

yeahbuddy: Donnie do not take that tone of voice with me!

yeahbuddy: did i sound like leo

genius: sure

yeahbuddy: great thank u 

_Last seen by genius at 7:00 pm_

Fearless Leader: I’m getting really sick and tired of these jokes about how I type. Mikey, you’re grounded.

yeahbuddy: what

yeahbuddy: leo you can’t ground me??@!$ help this is so funny

Fearless Leader: Oh yes I can! You aren’t coming on the next patrol. I may not be in a position to officially ground you but I’m still the leader of the team.

yeahbuddy: RNLMKSFDJLK WHAT DID I DO!#$?@!#

yeahbuddy: looks like someone can’t take a joke

Fearless Leader: Your jokes at my expense are not amusing. 

Yeahbuddy: duly noted! still not gonna stop making them doe they’re funny to everyone else

yeahbuddy: have fun on patrol u guys:)

imgonna end you: ARE YOU KIDDING

imgonna end you: WHY THE HELL DOES MIKEY HAVE TO STAY HOME?? OVER A JOKE??

yeahbuddy: leo’s being a dickweed don’t ask me lol

sis: MIKEYSFJK 

sis: what’s a dickweed

yeahbuddy: idk it sounds insulting 

Fearless Leader: I’m offended.

yeahbuddy: good

yeahbuddy: okay anyway

genius: what do you mean ‘okay anyway’ mikey? leo’s forcing you to stay home! aren’t you going to complain?

yeahbuddy: nope

yeahbuddy: what’s the point

yeahbuddy: he’s the one that got offended 

yeahbuddy: stay mad

_Last seen by Fearless Leader, genius, sis & imgonna end you at 7:45 pm _

_-_

sensei: My son, why are you still at our home?

yeahbuddy: scroll up sensei

sensei: 

yeahbuddy: okay fine! ugh ever since we made the groupchat i’ve made fun of how leo types since he uses proper punctuation n everything and he’s the only one that does

yeahbuddy: um. besides you

yeahbuddy: anyway i did it again earlier and he wouldn’t let me go on patrol so i’m still here

sensei: have you ever thought about how leonardo feels about you poking fun of him in front of his entire family?

yeahbuddy: well...no not really lol i didn’t think it was that big of a deal

_yeahbuddy: plus they do it to me all the time_

_Message unsent!_

sensei: What did you unsend?

yeahbuddy: nothing important

sensei: My son, maybe you should talk with Leonardo when he and your brothers come home. 

yeahbuddy: i don’t want to! literally it’s not even a big deal it was just a joke

sensei: If it was not a big deal then why did Leonardo not invite you along for tonight’s patrol? And why do you seem so...for lack of a better word, agitated?

sensei: My son?

yeahbuddy: because this ALWAYS happens. don and raph piss leo off all the time and THEY never get told to stay behind. leo wouldn’t DARE take them off patrol because they’re important to the team. but me? if i’m valuable to the team AT ALL then leo wouldn’t have left me behind over a stupid fucking joke.

sensei: Michelangelo 

_yeahbuddy has left the groupchat_

-

Fearless Leader: Hello we’re back! Is anyone else still awake?

sis: leo read the chat

genius: leo scroll up

imgonna end you: way to go lameonardo! jesus fucking christ 

sensei: Language!

imgonna end you: sensei you didn’t get upset when mikey 

sensei: And I would have, if he had stayed long enough for me to reprimand him. However, that is not something to be focused on right now. My oldest son, Leonardo. I believe you have a conversation to have with your youngest brother.

Fearless Leader: He’s right. It was a stupid thing to get upset over, I didn’t mean to make him feel so inferior. I’ll be right back. I’ve gotta message Mikey.

sis: good luck

imgonna end you: try not to roughen him up that much 

imgonna end you: that’s my job

sensei: Raphael! 

\--

Fearless Leader: Mikey

Fearless Leader: Mikey please

Fearless leader: Mikey just answer please

Fearless Leader: I’m sorry about earlier 

Fearless Leader: Please don’t shut me out I want to talk

yeahbuddy: hey

yeahbuddy: you’re an idiot 

Fearless Leader: I know

yeahbuddy: i hate you sometimes

yeahbuddy: do i really not mean enough to the team

yeahbuddy: i won’t be upset by the answer i just wanna know

Fearless Leader: Mikey, I mean this honestly 

yeahbuddy: great i appreciate the honesty

Fearless Leader: when I say that you’re probably the most important member on the team

yeahbuddy: wait what

Fearless Leader: Stop sending messages when I’m typing Mikey I’m trying to concentrate

yeahbuddy: okay yeah whatever 

yeahbuddy: hurry up you take forever 

Fearless Leader: Anyway yes I do believe you’re the most important person on the team and I think Raph and Don would agree with me on this. You’re important because you remind us that it’s fine to live even when we’re the ones who are forced to save the city over and over. You make Raph angry and then help him cool off. You convince Don not to shut himself up in his lab day and night. You help me chill out and remember that I’m (we’re) still kids. You make light of every single bad situation we’ve been in, no matter how bleak it looks. You might not be the leader or the smartest or the strongest physically, but you ARE the brightest. We couldn’t live without you. 

yeahbuddy: leo :(( oh my god 

yeahbuddy: i’m speechless

Fearless Leader: Obviously not, you’re still typing.

yeahbuddy: shut up im gonna cry

Fearless Leader: I love you, Mikey. What I did was really petty and I should have let you come along on the patrol instead of keeping you at home. I’m sorry.

yeahbuddy: no!! it was a really dumb joke and i should have just apologized

yeahbuddy: i’m sorry too.

yeahbuddy: and thanks. for bothering to talk to me

yeahbuddy: did i miss anything on patrol tho or

Fearless Leader: Mikey you aren’t a bother!

Fearless Leader: And Donnie and Raph were pissed at me the entire time it was horrible! They didn’t even talk to me after we found another mutagen canister I thought I was going to die of boredom

Fearless Leader: Other than that things were super quiet

yeahbuddy: middle children, am i right? they’re weird asf

yeahbuddy: wait another mutagen canister?? omg 

Fearless Leader: Yeah! 53 left!

yeahbuddy: that’s great! 

Fearless Leader: Yeah :) do you want to grab a snack? My fingers are tired of typing.

yeahbuddy: aww grandpa’s hands r gettin tired :’( 

yeahbuddy: i’ll be right down see u in a sec

Fearless Leader: Okay! (Shut up I’m going to throttle you)

-

_Fearless Leader added yeahbuddy to the groupchat!_

_Fearless Leader changed Fearless Leader’s name to fearless leader!_

fearless leader: :)

yeahbuddy: don’t look u guys i think leo’s manifesting

genius: do you even know what that means mikey

yeahbuddy: irrelevant 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me when they underestimate mikey again a fuckin gain give it a rest loves its pathetic


	5. this got deep...like, really deep

fearless leader: hey

fearless leader: mikey’s teaching me how to talk like a proper millennial 

fearless leader: Is it working?

sis: you’re getting there!! proud of you leo

fearless leader: lol

genius: MIKEY

genius: please i can’t stand you why would you teach him how to use lol

yeahbuddy: ALWKJLDKJWKFDA LEO PLEASE

fearless leader: mikey also told me what lmao means

genius: i hate it here more and more every single day

fearless leader: stfu donnie 

fearless leader: MIKEY DID I DO IT RIGHT

yeahbuddy: yes leo great job

fearless leader: :)

fearless leader: :)

fearless leader: how do i make emoticons without typing them

genius: i’m leaving 

yeahbuddy: u click the lil smiley face thingy in the corner 

fearless leader: oh

fearless leader: OH

fearless leader: this is amazing

fearless leader: :) ;) :D <3 :-/ :,)

imgonna end you: what in the fresh hell is going on now

sis: mikey’s teaching leo how to type ‘normally’

imgonna end you: genuinely wondering if i should disown you all as my family

imgonna end you: maybe i should run away and join those weird frog mutants we saw at the farmhouse

yeahbuddy: WEIRD FROG MUTANTS PALWKLD RAPH

yeahbuddy: are u talking about napoleon?? manz was sexy as hell

imgonna end you: what

imgonna end you: that frog dweeb that you were friends with?

imgonna end you: mikey did you LIKE him?

yeahbuddy: um 

yeahbuddy: what kind of like are we talking about here

fearless leader: Like

fearless leader: a romantic interest i think

yeahbuddy: oh haha! um 

yeahbuddy: uh 

yeahbuddy: idk how to answer

yeahbuddy: mayb?? i knew him for like a day aklsdjda

sis: did you get butterflies around him like you did with renet and shini? 

yeahbuddy: yeah? but i got them with leatherhead too, so

genius: hi i’m back is leo done being annoying

genius: he is! thank god

genius: what are we talking about

sis: i don’t want to put a label on it

sis: but i’m getting very bisexual vibes from mikey

yeahbuddy: bisexual?? what’s that

genius: basically it’s where you’re fine with dating either a guy or a girl 

yeahbuddy: omg

yeahbuddy: i thought i’d get shunned if i told u guys that i liked boys too??

yeahbuddy: because sensei is so traditional n everything yk

stabby stab: mikey no we could never shun you because of that

stabby stab: i’m bi too! 

stabby stab: but with a preference towards girls

stabby stab: and i know for a fact that shini is lesbian

yeahbuddy: lesbian?

sis: a girl that only likes other girls

yeahbuddy: oh

yeahbuddy: awkward SLKDJLJSFKJ i was obsessed with her 

fearless leader: we remember

fearless leader: karai you’re bi? i had no idea

stabby stab: YEAH i had a crush on you and then april it was hard

sis: karai i liked u too omg remember when i pushed u down the stairs that one time

stabby stab: sexual tension at its finest i think

sis: period!

genius: OH MY GOD KARAI

genius: i realized i was bi because i like both april and casey

genius: likeD

genius: LIKED**************

fearless leader: WHAT

fearless leader: KARAI YOU LIKED ME?? DONNIE YOU’RE BI TOO?? AND YOU LIKED CASEY?!@!$?

imgonna kill you: mikey you’re doing a great job he’s literally typing just like you

yeahbuddy: thx raph ive trained him hard

yeahbuddy: you LIEKD CASEY?!!#!>$ WHAT THE HELL

sis: YOU LIKE CASEY??? AND ME? AT THE SAME TIME??????

village idiot: woah guys calm down i’m here what did i miss

village idiot: DONNIE WHAT THE FUCK

genius: me and my stupid mouth 

genius: i’m never saying anything ever again

sis: DONNIE

stabby stab: donnie next time i see you im gonna give you the biggest hug

stabby stab: and mikey you too! welcome to the squad

yeahbuddy: thank u karai ily

yeahbuddy: still not completely sure yet but the word bisexual feels a ton better than just liking girls and lying to myself!

genius: that’ll be the internalized homophobia

village idiot: DONNIE?!! are we gonna talk about this

genius: no

sis: oh yes we are

sis: oh and since everyone’s coming out now i’m pansexual! i think y’all figured it out already though so um…#awkward

yeahbuddy: are u like. sexually attracted to pans

sis: MIKEYJKL

sis: no it means i like people regardless of gender! if i feel a connection with someone it doesn’t matter what they identify as, i’ll fall in love with them

yeahbuddy: oh!! that’s so cool

village idiot: i’m demisexual! and bi, too! it took me a while to find a label i was comfy with but basically it just means i’ll only date someone (girl or boy) if i have an emotional connection with them:)

genius: oh

genius: i had no idea

sis: donnie.

village idiot: donnie.

genius: STOP 

genius: fine you guys win 

genius: hold on

stabby stab: so is literally EVERYONE a part of lgbt then

fearless leader: i only like girls so no 

imgonna end you: ^

yeahbuddy: ur such a liar raph you were totally crushing on slash after he mutated

imgonna end you: I WAS NOT

yeahbuddy: whatever u say mr. suspicious! ;)

imgonna end you: i hate you

-

_genius added sis & village idiot to the chat! _

_village idiot named the groupchat idiots!_

genius: just so we’re all completely aware 

genius: i can’t stand either of you

sis: that’s not what you said in the main gc! 

village idiot: i thought you HATED me don???

genius: no i never hated you? where did you get that from

village idiot: hold on let me remember all the insults we’ve slinged back and forth at each other the past couple years

genius: listen it’s complicated

sis: explain it to us donnie! we wanna know

genius: i have this thing. this issue where i’m just constantly worried that because i’m a big humanoid ninja mutant turtle i’ll never really find happiness

genius: and when i saw the two of you getting closer before the farm and during the farm and after we saved nyc i became jealous because you two were getting closer and i wasn’t really a part of that. it was horrible and i lashed out at everyone because i

genius: since then i’ve kinda learned to live with it i guess 

genius: it was a screwup in the chat i just got excited when karai told everyone she liked april and leo because it felt really similar to my experience(s)

genius: and i definitely didn’t mean to make you guys uncomfortable or anything but yeah 

genius: i like you both 

sis: donnie 

sis: thank you for trusting us with this holy shit i had no idea you’ve harbored this for such a long time

genius: cons of living in a love triangle 

village idiot: who said we were a love triangle? me and red both like you too

genius: seriously case you don’t have to lie to make me feel better lmao i’m fine

sis: donnie he’s not lying

village idiot: do you really think we’d ever do that to you?

genius: well no not really it’s just 

genius: i’ve dreamed of this happening and it just doesn’t feel real

genius: almost too perfect

village idiot: of course it feels perfect don our lives are anything but perfect

village idiot: remember when i said i only fell for people i had emotional connections with

village idiot: yeah. the two people i’ve connected with the most in my entire fucking life are you and april 

village idiot: you’ve had my back more times than i can count. you’ve pushed me to stop being so selfish and remember that i can do things as a team instead of flying solo as a vigilante

village idiot: everytime we argued over some dumb shit i felt more accepted because yeah the words bit but they weren’t trying to hurt. you’ve always been there just to vent or to argue with but that’s the thing! you were ALWAYS there

village idiot: i don’t trust anyone more to protect me when i’m down. not even raph

village idiot: i've never felt safer.

genius: casey..

sis: for a scientist you really aren’t that good at feelings

sis: how do you feel don

genius: confused and 

genius: happy

genius: really happy

sis: that’s good! guess it’s time for my confession since everyone else has already gone lkdsefs

sis: i really wish we could have done this in person but this works for now i guess

sis: so i first started liking you after you saved my father from the kraang a couple months after we first met

sis: when you went after him by yourself just because he was important to me meant a lot (and it still does)

sis: you’re sweet, impulsive, sarcastic, and a total nerd

sis: and we really wouldn’t have it any other way

sis: donnie

sis: donnie are you still there

village idiot: maybe he fell asleep

sis: casey please its still early and you know how late don stays up

genius: sorry im here im trying to maintain a coherent thought process

genius: my throat is just completely dry at this point and im going to cry 

genius: you both

genius: you’re both being honest to god truthful with me 

village idiot: completely

sis: 100%

village idiot: we’d follow you anywhere donnie

genius: i need to see you both 

genius: right now

sis: yes! okay where 

village idiot: the park

genius: be there in five

_Last seen by sis & villageidiot at 10:08pm _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE...different :D
> 
> yea i promised it would be a texting fic but um i got bored


	6. i got ur text

Donnie leaped from building to building silently, heart thumping dangerously inside his chest as he tried not to think too much. He was such a mess, and only his seventeen years of ninja training made the conscious effort to keep him upright and not tumbling downwards off into the streets below.

He was tempted to believe it was all a dream until he skidded to a stop on the roof overlooking the small abandoned park and saw that they were already both there. He remembered the last time he stood on this building and looked down at the two of them. Sitting alone on the swings, April sitting idly as she tried to teach Casey trigonometry. It felt like ages had passed and at the same time…

Like nothing had changed at all, except his feelings for both of them. For Casey especially, he’s always known he loved April. His heart threatened to beat out of his chest. He feels like everything's happened so quickly and not quickly enough.

He landed quietly behind them, but he was stupid to think that they didn’t hear him. Their smiles were matching as they turned and considered him, open and accepting as he uncharastically feels nervous in their presence. Should he say something to make it less quiet? His tongue feels heavy in his mouth. He hopes he isn’t fidgeting. 

“Hi,” he tries softly. “Uh...I got your text.”

And that silence evaporates as April bursts out into quiet giggles. Casey still has that shit eating grin on his face, fading into a serene expression as he takes April by the elbow and walks towards Donnie. 

“I think we oughta sit down and talk about this, y’know. Just the three of us.” Casey says as he gets a bit closer to Donnie, talking a bit lower as a genuine smile appears on his face. “But first, I really just wanna - 

And he cuts himself off as he completely invades the turtle’s space, standing up a bit straighter so he can press his lips to Donnie’s. April’s close too, not too far away, and they both know she’s not going anywhere.

Kissing Casey was like nothing he’d ever felt in his entire life. His kiss was rough and demanding, and seemed to fit perfectly with Donnie’s mouth. The night seemed to fade away as Casey tilted his face to the side slightly for better access. His tongue slips against Donnie’s teeth and hits the tooth gap, maybe on purpose, maybe not. Donnie lets him in with no hesitance as his eyes finally fall. It seems like an eternity, maybe more than that, when they finally pull away to breathe. Casey has a reddish tint to his cheeks as he gazes at the taller figure in their trio, and Donnie struggles to breathe as the moisture in his mouth seems to increase tenfold, making it hard to talk. 

April wastes no time indulging in pleasantries as she tilts Donnie’s face away from Casey and reaches up on tiptoes to press her own kiss to Donnie’s lips. Kissing April was nothing like kissing Casey. Her lips were smooth, _so_ smooth, and Donnie again feels the world fade away as he lets his hands fall on April’s waistline. When she pulls away, she’s smiling, breathless. Donnie feels pleasure curl in the bottom of his stomach as the two human members of the Hamato Clan look up at him affectionately. He’s never felt safer.

They take the picnic table, Donnie and Casey sitting side by side at the actual table while April climbs up on top, sitting _on_ the table and facing them. “So, Don, how was that?” she asks with a grin as she reaches up to take her hair out of her ponytail and letting her hair flow down her shoulders. Casey swallows thickly and has to force his gaze away from April and onto Donnie, who’s staring at the table like it’s the most interesting thing in the world. 

“I still, um...can’t believe this is happening. I thought for so long that because I was a mutant I didn’t have a chance,” he starts quietly, feeling the others scoot a bit closer just to _be_ close. It makes him feel a bit better and he lifts his head to elaborate. “For years, I…I’ve wanted to be with you guys, _both_ of you. And I’m not the best at, uh, talking to people. Obviously, haha.” he turns his head again so they can’t make eye contact with him. “I just lo- like you both so, so much, it feels so surreal. And fake. With my life - our lives, how could something as good as you two just give me the biggest thing I’ve ever wanted so... willingly?”

Casey and April freeze, realizing what was on the tip of Donnie’s tongue and wishing more than anything he would tell them that he loved them, just so they could repeat the phrase back. Small smiles appear on their faces as they listen to Donnie, glad that he felt the same, glad that the three of them were finally complete. They were unstoppable, the three of them. It was surreal, all right.

“Donnie,” April reaches forward and cradles his head in her hands and presses another long kiss to his lips. When she pulls away she looks him straight in the eyes. “We want this too. We’ve both wanted this for...god, Case, how long?”

“Prolly since before the farmhouse, Red,” Casey answers without a beat, sliding even closer so him and the turtle are thigh to thigh. He almost expects Donnie to pull away, but Donnie doesn’t. 

“Why didn’t we say anything?” Donnie leans closer to them almost subconsciously, finally beginning to relax in their presence. “Me or...or you guys? We could have had months...years…”

“I don’t know,” April says softly, letting go of Donnie’s face as she leans back, looking troubled as she thought it over. “But it doesn’t matter anymore,” she says, feeling the two boys ( _her boys_?) look up at her, startled. “I’m not wasting any more time.” 

“What do you mean?” Donnie gazes up at April, confusion circling in his brown eyes. 

“It means we aren’t letting you go, egghead,” Casey wraps his arm around Donnie’s shoulders, shell and all. “You’re stuck with us whether you want it or not, fuckin loser.”

“Who are you calling a loser, dickwad?” That original fire begins to return to his eyes, playful and confident and so full of life as he realizes, finally, that they were _here_ and they weren’t going anywhere. Casey tries to get a word out but Donnie doesn’t let it happen, finally taking the initiative and pressing a chaste kiss to the human. 

April and Casey share a kiss after that, and Donnie checks himself over mentally to ask himself if the scene he was witnessing bothered him at all, and turns up blank. Maybe before it would, but right now all he feels is love blossoming in the pit of his stomach. He was with them, part of this little group. And they weren’t letting him slip away so easily. “What does this make us?” Donnie asks when they pull apart, gazing at each other for a second before hesitantly returning to their previous positions. 

“Well,” Casey starts with a smirk. “I do know about this thing called being polyanus-

“Polyamorous,” April corrects immediately while Donnie bursts out laughing (unaware of the fond looks they both send him). “You’re such an idiot, Jones.” 

“You love me, Red,” Casey fires back instantaneously. “ _Anyway_ , I feel like if we really just...communicated and worked together we could make it work. Any objections?”

When Donnie raises his hand the smirk on Casey’s face dips slightly. “Yes, D?” 

“I...are you completely sure you want this? Want me? Even though I’m -

“A ninja mutant turtle? One hundred and twenty thousand percent,” Casey interrupts, backed with April’s furious nodding. “We want you. We always will want you. If that hasn’t changed in all the time we’ve known you, I doubt it ever will.”

Donnie tries not to let the relief hit him too strongly, but he knows they can feel the sharp intake of his breath. “I’m...sorry, it's just, hard sometimes, and…”

“Don’t apologize, especially over something as important as your feelings.” April breaks in gently and takes his hand. “We love you.”

And it hits him like a freight train, how much they genuinely mean it. How they show it. How they’ve always shown it. From Casey bothering him in the lab while they bickered like idiots to April seeking him out exclusively to train, to vent to. To all three of them watching out for eachother during missions, or even goofing off together in the living room down below. It’s _always_ been there, he’s just been head deep in all of his work (and anxieties) to really see it. To realize they've reciprocated the same feelings he's harbored for years.

He feels tears rise to his face and spill down his cheek and finally says it with all of his heart. “I love you both. So so much.”

\--

They all decide to take advantage of Casey’s darkened bedroom to slip in and get some well deserved shut-eye. Of course, they can’t stay forever - Casey has a kid sister and a Dad, but they’re content to curl up together on Casey’s tiny bed for as long as they can.

Huddled up together under the multitude of blankets they drift off to sleep. April sends a text to the groupchat to not cause alarm over Donnie's absence before she finally curls up into said turtle’s side, entangling her hand with Casey’s (which was previously resting on Donnie’s plasteron as he’s taken the side closest to the wall). She’s never felt safer.

sis: donnie’s with me and case <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JEFJSSLF this was fun to write 
> 
> i want to make a texting fic but also like. have a storyline does that make sense i'm all over the place i need sleep


	7. feels like a holiday

yeahbuddy: so i heard from a little birdy ;)

yeahbuddy: about donnie april and casey ;)

imgonna end you: literally all you have to do is scroll up a bit to see what april said last night you idiot

yeahbuddy: STOP 

yeahbuddy: WHY DID DONNIE GO OUT TO SEE THEM WITHOUT USSS

imgonna end you: does it look like i know? 

yeahbuddy: no but i bet ur curious

imgonna end you: 

yeahbuddy: SCORE one point for me zero for u 

fearless leader: PERIODT

yeahbuddy: LEO NOO that was my line

imgonna end you: why did you teach him how to talk like that.

imgonna end you: literally the biggest mistake you’ve ever made

yeahbuddy: i can see your point but im ignoring it

imgonna end you: as always

genius: hi guys

yeahbuddy: DONNIEEEE

yeahbuddy: where were u last night

yeahbuddy: u totally skipped the awesome movie we watched last night

genius: i was (still am) with casey and april 

genius: i’m sorry for missing it mikey

yeahbuddy: aww it’s all good dee 

yeahbuddy: can u tell us why u secretly went to visit casey and april without us doe

genius: i will when they’re awake

genius: i slept with them last night that’s why i didn’t come back

fearless leader: YOU DID WHAT

imgonna end you: DONNIE WHAT THE FUCK

yeahbuddy: like a sleepover?

genius: yeah mike it was a sleepover

yeahbuddy: ooh fun 

yeahbuddy: why were leo and raph capitalizing…

genius: trust me you don’t want to know

genius: its adult stuff

yeahbuddy: IM THE SAME AGE AS YOU GUYS WHAT THE HELL

yeahbuddy: i wanna know

genius: leo? raph?

genius: you both walked straight into that one

genius: have fun :)

fearless leader: did he seriously use a smiley face emoticon and ditch us

imgonna end you: it's NOT OUR FAULT that asshat should have phrased it differently

yeahbuddy: phrased what differently

fearless leader: its way too early for this 

imgonna end you: listen mikey, when two people love each other very much 

fearless leader: or three in donnie’s case

imgonna end you: leo 

imgonna end you: shut the hell up or im gonna make you do it

fearless leader: shutting up

-

Donnie cackled evilly under his breath as he left Raph and Leo to their cruel fate of explaining to Mikey what sex was and feels one of his two counterparts chuckle along as he read over the turtle’s shoulder.

“You coulda phrased that so much better, D,” Casey murmurs against Donnie’s right shoulder, eyes still delirious from exhaustion. Donnie tilts his head to the side and captures Casey’s lips in a kiss, feeling that exhaustion melt away almost instantly. It felt just as good as last night, maybe even better.

“Yeah, I could have,” Donnie agrees quietly as they pull away. “Seemed better to let them know straight up, for when it does happen.” 

“For when it does -” Casey repeats, eyes widening at what that implies. A faint blush spread across his cheeks, making Donnie smile. “I want to.”

“Me, too.” Donnie nods. “Not now, though. When the time is right.” 

“Yeah,” Casey laughs, slapping Donnie’s shoulder, though it didn’t do much since he was still pressed up against the wall. “I want to go on at least a few dates before I get lured into bed.”

“You want to do what now?” April finally rouses on Donnie’s other side and gazes up at the two of them with that same exhaustion that was mimicked on Donnie’s and Casey’s faces alike. “Hi, boys,” she says quietly, blue eyes softening with adoration as she quickly remembers the events of the previous night. 

“Hey, April,” they both respond with cheeky smiles. 

“What were you talking about?” she asks and sits up slowly, bringing her feet to her chest and her arms above her head. Donnie and Casey instantly freeze and blush at April’s exposed midriff. 

“Sex,” Donnie answers truthfully, his tongue heavy in his mouth (again) and throat as dry as a desert. April drops her arms and grins slyly at the two of them.

“Fantastic! Right now?” she grins, raising her eyebrows to the sky.

“W-What? April - 

“Red, what the hell -

“I’m joking!” she cackles, gripping Donnie’s shoulder as she snickers. “Even if we were all ready for that, we don’t have enough time to even get started. It’s almost 6, I think your Dad’s gonna be up soon.”

“Ugh, no! I don’t want you guys to leave!” Casey flops back on the pillows like he didn’t just have a mini heart attack and brings Donnie down with him. “Can’t we just stay here?” he pleads, and the two have a hard time turning him down. 

“What do you guys have to do today?” April asks, laying back down so she can cuddle back underneath with them. She wouldn't admit it, but she didn't want to leave them either. Especially this early in the morning.

“Literally nothing! Well, I have to practice a bit with hockey, but besides that! Literally nothing.”

“I have a few touch ups to do on the Shellraiser, but…” he falters under their glares. “I mean, uh, I could always do that later…”

“You work too much,” April says what the two humans in their trio are thinking, reaching in for a kiss. Donnie is happy to oblige, and presses down flat against the bed so Casey and April can kiss above him afterwards. He still can’t believe that this is his life now, and he feels more content than ever.

“Well, um. I have a movie projector in the lab that I’m building, and I need to - to test it out. So, uhm, if you guys could sneak into my lab without my brothers seeing, we could watch a couple movies uninterrupted before patrol starts tonight,” Donnie proposes with a small grin, seeing the smiles completely overtake their faces as they realize they didn’t have to wait until that night to see each other again.

“Okay! Yeah, I vote we do that,” Casey raises his hand immediately, causing the other two to laugh.

“Me too,” April says enthusiastically. “We need snacks first though, let’s hit a gas station.” 

And with that (after a lot of groaning and regretting that they had to leave the bed) they leave out of Casey’s window in just the company of eachother, ready for a day together with hopefully minimal interruptions. Donnie couldn't erase the smile on his face.

-

_Idiots_

genius: okay i’m in the lab you guys better hurry up, they’re already up! i think they're still in the kitchen so don’t you dare get caught

sis: someone’s impatient

genius: do you know how hard it was for me to convince leo not to have training today

villageidiot: what did you even tell him

genius: that i had a lot of important things to do today in the lab

genius: surprisingly he believed me

villageidiot: ;)

sis: we’re JUST watching a movie, case

villageidiot: yeah, together ;)

villageidiot: and don says MORE THAN ONE MOVIE ;)

genius: did i really

villageidiot: yes you did don’t try and slither your way out of this one

villageidiot: casey jones needs a lot of affection today 

genius: stop referring to yourself in third person jones ill scream and let leo catch you

villageidiot: you’d never do that quit lying

sis: we’re here :)

\--

yeahbuddy: why don’t we have training today

fearless leader: well

fearless leader: don’s busy 

imgonna end you: we’re not having training just because don’s in the lab?

fearless leader: no! i think we need a break today anyway i don’t feel that good

yeahbuddy: aw no leo what’s wrong

fearless leader: i had a really bad nightmare last night 

fearless leader: about shredder and 

fearless leader: i saw master splinter die

fearless leader: for good. shredder killed him 

fearless leader: and i saw myself becoming the sensei and the leader of the hamato clan but like

fearless leader: i couldn’t handle it and the pressure got so bad

yeahbuddy: leo :(

yeahbuddy: it was just a nightmare, bro

imgonna end you: where did this dream happen, fearless?

fearless leader: that’s the thing, it happened here. in our city

fearless leader: and we couldn’t stop it

fearless leader: im gonna go meditate, i’ll talk to you guys later

yeahbuddy: raph

imgonna end you: yeah, mike?

yeahbuddy: im worried about leo

yeahbuddy: and sensei

imgonna end you: me too

yeahbuddy: do you think we’ll be okay?

imgonna end you: we’ll be fine

imgonna end you: we’ve dealt with all kinds of shit before 

imgonna end you: we can handle whatever happens

yeahbuddy: ur right

yeahbuddy: thx raphie

imgonna end you: don’t call me that you dweeb

yeahbuddy: :(

imgonna end you: do you wanna play a game

imgonna end you: super mario kart?

yeahbuddy: PERIODDDDDDDDDD ill be there in two shakes of a 

imgonna end you: i suddenly don’t want to play with you ever again

yeahbuddy: TOO LATEEE meet u in the living room in two

_Last seen by imgonna end you at 8:27am_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> KSALJDKALSFDLA okay so that happened


	8. not mikey watching porn D:

genius: guys come here!

fearless leader: vas happenin

imgonna end you: did you just

imgonna end you: is that a one direction reference

imgonna end you: the zayn malik thing

fearless leader: how did you know?

yeahbuddy: baby you light up my world like nobody else

genius: oh my god can you guys stop for LITERALLY five seconds i have something important to say

genius: mikey stay right where you are this involves you

yeahbuddy: what didn’t i do this time ;)

genius: actually it’s what you did do

genius: why did you look up porn

yeahbuddy: DONNIE@?$@^>%#?@$>^

yeahbuddy: um 

yeahbuddy: I DIDN’T DO IT

fearless leader: mikey.

yeahbuddy: OKAY FINE I DID DO IT

yeahbuddy: listen i was 

yeahbuddy: um, curious??

yeahbuddy: ever since raph explained it

imgonna end you: im not getting involved in this conversation

yeahbuddy: too late ur already in it

yeahbuddy: THIS IS YOUR FAULT DONNIE

genius: ??? how would it be my fault

yeahbuddy: if u weren’t like OOH GUYS I SLEPT WITH APRIL AND CASEY LOOK AT ME LOOK AT MEEE and then force leo and raph into explaining what sex was but only raph explained it because leo was too much of a pussy

fearless leader: HEY EXCUSE ME

genius: that was more than a month ago, mikey. you looked it up yesterday

yeahbuddy: didn't have time lol...do u forget....we are ninja turtles

yeahbuddy: mfs comin at our necks every five seconds please forgive me for not looking up porn immediately after we had a family discussion on it

genius: your sarcasm isn't appreciated

yeahbuddy: wow really i hadn't guessed

genius: listen i don’t mind if you do i get it you’re all curious and we don’t really get action

genius: besides me i mean

imgonna end you: shut the fuck up i don’t want to hear it SHUT THE FUCK UP DONNIE

imgonna end you: so disgusting just stop talking

genius: be quiet raph i didn’t even say anything vulgar 

genius: BUT PLEASE please just open an incognito tab or something next time

yeahbuddy: no it wasn’t really that interesting anyway um

yeahbuddy: like its just a bunch of naked people slithering around its actually kinda creepy D:

fearless leader: that’s an interesting...yet, true way to describe sex

yeahbuddy: satisfaction quelled! 

yeahbuddy: how did you even know, anyway?

genius: i can see all of your search histories

genius: it gives me an alert when you look up something x related

yeahbuddy: WHAT?? does it do that with raph and leo too

genius: no just you

yeahbuddy: WHY THE HELL 

fearless leader: because you’re the baby of the family and we want to make sure you’re safe on the internet?

imgonna end you: and make sure you aren’t ordering anything off the black market

yeahbuddy: first of all, for the last damn time,

yeahbuddy: i’m the same exact age as the rest of u

yeahbuddy: SECOND of all

yeahbuddy: i DONT EVEN KNOW HOW TO GET TO THE BLACK MARKET

genius: but if you did know would you go to it?

yeahbuddy: yeah

genius: exactly! proved my point :)

yeahbuddy: shit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AKJHAFHLI tell me he wouldn't look up porn and the rest of them lecture him about it


	9. harry potter asf

sis: hey so did you guys ever read the harry potter series

genius: hey babe

genius: and yeah of course! we all did

genius: er…mike’s dyslexic so we helped him with it 

yeahbuddy: OKAY I JUST WANNA SAY FUCK JK ROWLING

yeahbuddy: she’s a massive terf! i’m so glad she’s cancelled

fearless leader: yasss

imgonna end you: i agree with mike but shut the fuck up leo

fearless leader: :(:)

sis: yeah fuck jk rowling

sis: WAIT MIKEY’S DYSLEXIC

yeahbuddy: mhm :( i’m getting better at reading doe splinter helps me stay focused and the bros help me too

sis: AWE thats so sweet of them

sis: okay anyway i just forced casey to read the first book and now he’s addicted

genius: the first books weren’t that interesting 

genius: after book four they got so much better

imgonna end you: agreed

imgonna end you: it got darker and i loved it so much

fearless leader: should i be concerned that you loved it because it got darker

imgonna end you: no

imgonna end you: let me have this

fearless leader: okay

sis: what hogwarts houses would we be in??

genius: easy!

genius: you and i would be in ravenclaw

imgonna end you: i’d be in gryffindor with casey

yeahbuddy: leo would totally be in hufflepuff

fearless leader: mikey would be in slytherin

stabby stab: i wouldn’t even go to hogwarts lol

stabby stab: durmstrang for the win !!

sis: those are SO ACCURATE

sis: do you think master splinter would be dumbledore

yeahbuddy: LDSJKAFDASD

yeahbuddy: but doesn’t he d

yeahbuddy: oh um. sorry

sensei: I think I would be an accurate representation of Headmaster Dumbledore, Michelangelo. I do not fear death and I hope to seek wisdom just as freely as he did.

yeahbuddy: sensei do u know what house you’d be in

sensei: Ravenclaw. It’s the most fitting for me, my son.

yeahbuddy: yeah i could see u in ravenclaw

imgonna end you: you aren’t scared of death, sensei? at all?

sensei: There was a time where the fear of getting caught by my enemies was my biggest fear. It controlled me for fifteen years and it would have controlled me for longer. But, I overcame that fear, despite my instincts telling me not to. And because I let you four explore the surface, we have an increased family, I have reunited with my daughter, and the world has been saved. Multiple times.

sensei: Because of you four, April, Casey, and my own daughter, Karai, I have much to live for. But I am not scared of death. It happens to all, eventually. I know that when I pass on, I am leaving the world in very safe hands. 

yeahbuddy: sensei :((

yeahbuddy: that was so deep

imgonna end you: MIKEY PLEASE

fearless leader: thank you for sharing, father.

fearless leader: i think that as leader i often worry that i’m not enough for the group, and that i’m not ready for the responsibility. it gets a lot to handle sometimes 

fearless leader: but hearing that i just feel a lot better because it reminds me that i have things to live for

sis: of course, leo

genius: you’re our leader

genius: we’re going to follow you (and we’re obligated to, lmao) to the ends of the earth if we have to

yeahbuddy: ^^

village idiot: are we completely sure leo isn’t gryffindor

sis: hey babe

genius: hey case

imgonna end you: i still hate that april and donnie immediately answer casey first and they don’t even answer his question

imgonna end you: gross

genius: how do you think we felt when you were slobbering all over mona lisa

imgonna end you: donnie im gonna fucking kill you

genius: you gotta catch me first

sis: my place is open if you need a quick getaway don

sis: case you too

village idiot: i’m already outside red let me in

sis: coming! 

fearless leader: no i'm definitely hufflepuff

fearless leader: i could easily have been put in gryffindor though

fearless leader: but i mean raph could have easily been put in slytherin and mikey in hufflepuff

yeahbuddy: i get underestimated by our enemies all the time

yeahbuddy: seems fitting that i’d go into the least likely house

imgonna end you: so what about our enemies? what house would they be in

fearless leader: well. shredder and the kraang and

imgonna end you: slytherin?

yeahbuddy: hey :((

yeahbuddy: you guys have to stop with the house prejudice 

imgonna end you: mikey do you even REMEMBER the books

imgonna end you: all the evil mfs were in slytherin

yeahbuddy: YEAH well. 

yeahbuddy: draco malfoy was pretty cool in the end

imgonna end you: you just liked his hair

yeahbuddy: and his face

genius: tom felton is pretty hot

sis: ^

stabby stab: ^

village idiot: draco malfoy is sexy as hell i’ll fight anyone who says no 

village idiot: even if harry hates him.

fearless leader: okay can we all agree on emma watson.

sis: YES

stabby stab: HOLY SHIT FUCK YES

yeahbuddy: YESD?@$q# shes so gorgeous

village idiot: that’s the girl who plays hermione, right?

genius: yes 

genius: oh shit i forgot you haven’t seen the movies case

sis: OKAY SO.

stabby stab: this friday.

imgonna end you: are we going to have a harry potter marathon

yeahbuddy: YES

imgonna end you: can’t! i’m busy friday me and casey are going out

village idiot: no we’re not?? stop raph you aren’t getting out of this

imgonna end you: BUT THE LAST MARATHON WE DID TOOK FOREVER

imgonna end you: AND WE HAD TRAINING THE NEXT DAY I WAS SO TIRED

genius: you were also bored because we were marathoning twilight raph this is different

yeahbuddy: HEY TWILIGHT WAS COOL

yeahbuddy: vampires vs. werewolves who will win

village idiot: NO mikey not this again

fearless leader: i’ll ask splinter if we can have the day off on saturday maybe he’ll want to join

sensei: I would love to watch all eight movies! You will be excused from training the next day.

sensei: In fact, I am requiring you, Raphael, to stay with your family and watch all eight movies.

fearless leader: YAYYY

imgonna end you: im gonna lose my mind

fearless leader: OKAY EVERYONE!! all in favor of harry potter marathon on friday say i

sis: i

genius: i

yeahbuddy: i

village idiot: i

stabby stab: i

sensei: I

yeahbuddy: looks like ur outvoted raphie

imgonna end you: just wait im gonna have my revenge 

imgonna end you: >:)

village idiot: why does it actually look scary when raph uses emoticons

sis: shh babe don’t egg him on

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HJADdKSADJWKD next ep ill do another plot thingy with the marathon


	10. movie marathon!

“It’s Friday!” Mikey cheers enthusiastically, throwing his hands up in the air and falling backwards on the tiled floor in their living room, spread eagled and completely disregarding the risk of others stepping on him.

“You’re so observant, Mikey!” Raph spits sarcastically at his youngest brother as he takes a seat farthest from the commotion that would soon be following when the others arrive. _Stupid family stupid Harry Potter movie marathon_ “I can’t fucking believe I’m going to be stuck here for the next seven something hours -

“Actually, all of the movies combined are about... 1,178 minutes, which is just under twenty hours.” Donnie taps at the little tablet he was holding as he finishes his calculations. He had emerged from his lab only seconds before and was already getting on his hotheaded brother’s nerves. “Nineteen hours and thirty eight minutes, to be precise.” 

“Quit fucking being _precise_ ,” Raph snarls, holding up his clenched fist to make sure his genius brother got the message. “I can’t _believe_ we’re doing this!”

“Oh, pipe down you big baby,” Leo appears from the dojo with Master Splinter following close behind. “It’s not like you had anything else to do tonight, anyway! This last week - er, month - has actually been really quiet.” 

“Well, it is getting closer to the end of the year, Leo,” Donnie looks ready to go on another tirade, making Raph roll his eyes and slump further into the couch. “Even villains have to take the winter off.”

“See, Raphie?” Mikey asks, rolling his head back and gazing at him with his usual shit eating grin on his face. “Enjoy us _not_ doing anything illegal for one day, yeah?” 

Raph grunted, which honestly could have been an affirmative or not, but the rest were satisfied that he wouldn’t argue with the decision. Donnie slips the disk into the box and the first Harry Potter movie starts loading up. Mikey instantly turns away from Raph to watch the trailers.

“Hey, guys!” a feminine voice eventually draws their attention away from their T.V. April and Casey leap over the turnstiles and step farther into the lair, eyes immediately looking for their third partner. Nobody even has to look at Donnie to see his face light up a bit more as they make their way over to him. The two humans exchange hello’s all around and drop down on either side of Donnie. 

“Don’t kiss! Or do any sort of PDA! That shit is so nasty!” Mikey pipes in from the floor (he’s already back to watching the trailers). A chorus of “ _Mikey!_ ” immediately follows from everyone in the vicinity and the youngest lets out a yelp as Casey throws one of his shoes at his shell. 

“You guys are such hypocrites,” Donnie grumbles under his breath, but his annoyance is quickly dispelled as April and Casey slide even closer to him with little grins of their own. He’s not sure how he’s going to make it through the next nineteen hours and thirty-eight minutes without combusting at this point. 

“Heyyy, sorry we’re late!” Karai is the last to show up, dragging Shinigami behind her. “I brought Shini with me! Hope you guys don’t mind!”

“Not at all,” Master Splinter dipped his head in welcome to his daughter and their long haired friend. “Welcome, Shinigami.”

“Hello,” Shinigami pants, a little out of breath after being dragged across the city. She recovers quickly enough, leaning in closer to her shorter friend and lowering her voice considerably. “Are we going to tell them now, or - 

“Yeah, I think everyone who’s here deserves to know,” Karai returned casually, but her anxious jittering proved she was anything but. Shini smiled and squeezed their entangled hands. Taking a deep breath, Karai got her family's attention with a quick clap. 

“Before we uh, start, me and Shini have something to say,” Karai begins quietly, “Me and Shini, we’re - 

“Dating?” Mikey interrupts, looking from them to the T.V like he couldn’t figure out which was more interesting. “Old news, we knew that.”

“Mikey!” Leo throws the closest thing he can find - Casey’s other shoe - at Mikey’s exposed shell. “Shut up and let Karai finish!”

“That’s literally all I was going to say,” Karai laughs, breathy and nervous but not as nervous as she was twenty seconds ago. “Stole my thunder again, Mikey.” 

“Sorry not sorry,” Mikey grabs Casey’s shoe and launches it back in the general direction of Leo. His indignant squawk makes the youngest grin. “Congrats! It was kind of obvious though, like, really obvious. Like Donnie’s crush on April, that kind of obvious.” 

“You had no idea about his crush on Casey, so I’m going to take that with a grain of salt,” Karai returns easily as she and Shini finally join the little hudde in front of the T.V. Donnie is pointedly pretending he can’t hear, and Raph, still a bit snappy from earlier, grins.

“Oh, once we had that one conversation about Donnie’s obsession with them, it was easy to look back on them interacting and realize that Donnie is totally and completely useless when it comes to -

“NINETEEN HOURS AND THIRTY-EIGHT MINUTES, RAPH,” Donnie helpfully reminds his older brother with an elevated voice. “And this isn’t even about me, you idiot - how about you congratulate Karai and Shinigami before you try and make fun of me _again_?” 

“Enough!” Master Splinter is quick to grab their attention before Raph could retort. “We are here to have a marathon, not squabble like incessant children!” he points his walking cane in Leo’s direction, since he was the one with the remote. “Start the movie, Leonardo.”

“Damn, someone’s excited for the Harry Potter movie marathon,” Mikey whispers dramatically, but shuts up nevertheless and faces forward to the screen. The lights in the lair dim a bit more and they’re all enamored by the fantasy world almost instantly.

“Ugh, I hate this one,” Raph complains an hour and a half into it, watching with distaste as Harry, Ron, and Hermione sneak past an already sleeping Fluffy and outsmart their way through the next several puzzles to get to ‘Snape’. “It’s literally just a kid’s movie, there’s no action or anything!”

“Yeah, dude, they’re kids,” Mikey states like Raph somehow missed that crucial detail completely. “Of course it’s gonna be milder, they don’t wanna traumatize them too much yet.”

Leo shoots him a smirk from the other side of the room and Raph huffs, glaring back at the screen and wishing he had lasers for eyes (so he could glare at the screen hard enough and destroy the television) but sadly it didn’t happen. 

The second movie was slightly better than the first, in the sense that Raph was way more interested. But _only_ because there was a ballistic. No other reason.“Hey Karai, how do you feel about seeing a huge ass snake completely dominate a school like that?”

“Hot and bothered, Raph,” she responds sarcastically. Everyone laughs (except Mikey, who looked confused, and Splinter, who shakes his head at the two of them in disapproval), and Raph turns back to the T.V. with a small grin on his face. Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.

They got through the third movie without any incident or interruption, except Mikey began to fall asleep during the ending credits so Splinter calls for a break. They go to the kitchen, all nine of them, and huddle around the island while Leo makes tea and Mikey (albeit groggily) makes popcorn without burning the kernels like any of them would have done. 

“So, Raph, how do you feel about the marathon?” Donnie puts an elbow on the island and rests his chin in it. “Still bored out of your shell?” 

“Nah, Sirius Black is a kickass character,” Raph replies truthfully. “Plus I loved it when they threatened to kill Pettigrew, it just.. made me really happy.”

“Peter Pettigrew was in Gryffindor,” Mikey reminds them all after he finishes yawning for the umpteenth time. “Do we all agree to stop the house prejudice now?” 

“Maybe,” Casey says while everyone else murmurs assent. When Casey receives a glare from the youngest turtle he shrugs. “Voldemort’s in Slytherin, my friend.”

“So’s Draco Malfoy…” Mikey doesn’t relent and continues to glare.

“You can’t use the fact that I’m gay for Malfoy against me, Mikey.” Casey sighs, dragging a hand down his face. 

“Yeah, Mikey,” Donnie places a hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “That _was_ a low blow.”

“Ah, bugger off, the lot of you.” Mikey suddenly throws up his hands, nearly hitting Leo in the face. “Have fun making popcorn...and burning it,” he snarls at all of them and walks backwards into the living room, hopefully to put in the fourth movie.

April sighs. “Can’t we just have one normal night?” 

“What are your standards of ‘normal’?” Shinigami asks, folding her arms.

“Mikey not suddenly adopting a British accent would be a nice place to start.” 

The fourth movie erupted into a popcorn fight at the halfway mark, which Donnie _totally_ won and Master Splinter put an end to almost instantly. When Voldemort rose from death and fought Harry in the graveyard, Mikey finally snaps.

“I think Voldemort reincarnated into Shredder.” 

“That’s impossible, Mikey.”

“Dude, don’t you _see_ the similarities?”

“Yeah, but it’s still impossible.” 

“Whatever! I bet Shredder doesn’t have a nose.” 

“ _Shut up, both of you, and yes Shredder has a nose_!”

“Dude, how do you _know_?” 

“ _Mikey_!” 

“I hate this family,” Donnie mutters. April and Casey snicker under their breaths as the movie ends with Harry thinking the same thing as he heads back to the Dursley’s for another summer.

The fifth and sixth movies go along easier, and it’s clear that these two are everyone's favorite out of the eight. Raph doesn’t even have a single complaint and even joins in a bit as they all collectively fawn over Ginny.

“She’s mine, I call dibs,” Karai says, causing an uproar. “Listen! Guys, I know we all have a thing for gingers,” (April squeaks, hiding her face in the pillow), “but I already called dibs. So fuck off.” 

“Miwa!” Splinter raises his voice and Karai melts backwards against Shinigami, still grinning around with a vindictive smirk.

“She’s _literally_ dating Harry,” Mikey complains, “ _and_ she’s a fictional character.”

“Does it look like I care?” Karai’s response is scathing and Mikey settles for flipping her off in the dim light. 

The seventh and ( _finally_ ) eighth movie pass slowly and they can feel the angst creeping into the room. As Ron ditches Harry and Hermione in the tent and the weeks follow with no word from him, Donnie sighs. “They totally milked that.”

No one even has the heart to disagree as Hermione starts crying (again). “Wasn’t it the Horcrux that made him walk out?” Leo asks.

“Yeah, but Ron was acting bitchy before that,” Raph snarks, picking at his fingertips. “He’s just being annoying.”

“No!” April says, “he was _not_ being bitchy, and _no,_ Mikey, I’m not defending him because he’s ginger.” (Mikey had opened his mouth again), “Listen, he got splinched from their escape from the Ministry of Magic, he was _still_ wearing that damn locket, and he clearly has an inferiority complex. Plus, they’ve been in the woods, away from family, for _months_ with little to no success. You can’t really blame him for wanting to get out of there.”

“Whoa, Red, what’s got you so worked up?” Casey asks. April glances at Donnie and sighs.

“I see myself in him,” she admits. “Especially with him and the locket, and me with the crystal, it’s just...it aligns really well.”

The room gets a little tense, but Donnie, exhaling silently, slips an arm around her. He doesn’t say anything, just holds her, but April eventually relaxes a bit more. When Ron comes back and sheepishly smiles as Hermione launches angrily at him and hits him with his own bag they all laugh collectively and the remaining tension drains completely. 

The Battle of Hogwarts had them all paying attention. Casey actually yells and throws his remaining popcorn at the screen when Fred dies and doesn’t stop grumbling under his breath, an angry scowl spreading across his face. They all cheer when Voldemort dies, cheering louder when the Golden Trio regroup in front of the school.

The epilogue has Casey shouting at the screen again (he tries to throw the popcorn bowl at the screen but April stops him just in time) and falls dramatically with Mikey on the floor, spread-eagled on his back as he reconsiders his entire life. “What the hell did I just watch?”

“Nineteen hours and thirty-eight minutes of some of the best literature-turned-movie ever!” Mikey says, and flips on his back so he can grin sideways at his human friend. “How do ya feel, bro?”

“Emotionally drained,” Casey admits. 

“That’s the stuff!” 

“You’re still reading the books,” April reminds him from her place up by Donnie. Casey sighs, but he expected that. Yay, _reading_.

“Are they better than the movies?”

“Yes,” everyone says immediately. 

-

It’s 11am, Saturday afternoon (they started at 5pm yesterday night), and everyone is exhausted, so after Karai and Shinigami say their goodbyes and Splinter is back inside the dojo, the remaining six raid the brother’s rooms and take pillows, blankets, and comforters out of the rooms and curl up together in the living room (a sleepover isn’t really the right word to call it, since it _is_ the middle of the day, but they really didn’t care at that point). 

“Can’t believe we sacrificed our sleep schedule for Casey,” Leo groans as he yawned, curling up underneath the massive blanket. He can already feel his eyes beginning to close but he manages to catch Raph’s response before he becomes dead to the world.

“Next time... _I’m_ picking the fucking movie series we marathon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AS;JLDKJAD IVE NEVER SEEN THE HARRY POTTER MOVIES IVE ONLY READ THE BOOKS FORGIVE ME ILL WATCH THEM EVENTUALLY


	11. they mentioned last years incident

village idiot: hey you guys

village idiot: don’t think i ever vocalized my hatred for snape so here we go

village idiot: i hate snape

yeahbuddy: omg...our minds! connected

yeahbuddy: what part are u at

village idiot: crabbe and goyle hit hermione w the spell that made her teeth grow larger and THIS MF WAS LIKE

village idiot: ‘i see no difference’

village idiot: UGH WHEN I CATCH HIM

sis: period kill him babe i’ll help

sis: anyway...taylor swifts new album

genius: OH YM GOD I KNOIWEJRW

genius: folklore is a fucking masterpiece

yeahbuddy: haven’t listened to it yet :,

genius: MIKEY DO IT NOW

yeahbuddy: OKAY :D

village idiot: betty!! >>>

sis: this is why we’re dating, casey. that message right there

genius: the truth just comes straight from your mouth casey

fearless leader: idk i just really like illicit affairs august and seven

genius: and cardigan

sis: AND THE 1

village idiot: honestly the entire ALBUM is just...insane

village idiot: AND SHE DROPPED IT ALL WITH NO FUCKING PROMO LIKE WHO THE HELL DOES THAT

sis: TAYLOR SWIFT THATS WHO

imgonna end you: i can’t stand any of you

genius: life is too short to pretend you don’t like taylor swift raph

imgonna end you: shut the hell up 

yeahbuddy: OKAY IM LISTENING TO IT

yeahbuddy: ignore raph he’s just a reputation stan

imgonna end you: .

sis: you know...raph, im a 1989 stan….yet i love folklore...yes we exist

imgonna end you: reputation was fucking slept on

yeahbuddy: not as much as lover was but ok rep stannie

imgonna end you: YOUR FAVORITE FUCKING SONGS FROM THAT ALBUM WERE ME WITH THAT BRENDON URIE GUY AND LONDON BOY

imgonna end you: do you guys remember when he fucking played me for hours last year i lost my fucking mind

sis: me was a bop raph shut the hell up

imgonna end you: HE PLAYED IT FOR FUCKING HOURS. APRIL. HOURS.

yeahbuddy: ok and…

yeahbuddy: dont you fucking DARE try n make fun of london boy

yeahbuddy: that song is my baby i will fucking treasure it for the rest of my life

yeahbuddy: can we cancel raph...come on guys let's get it trending on twitter

imgonna end you: YOU HAVE AN OBSESSION WITH BRITISH PEOPLE AND BRITISH PLACES AND JUST BRITAIN IN GENERAL AND WHEN PEOPLE CALL YOU OUT ON IT YOU FREAK THE HELL OUT 

yeahbuddy: yeah love… what’s your point? Xx

imgonna end you: me when i kill yo

yeahbuddy: id love to see u try lol

fearless leader: out of all the things we argue about

fearless leader: i honestly can’t believe we’re arguing over taylor swift albums.

  
genius: why leo we argue about literally everything

fearless leader: good point

yeahbuddy: anyway betty is the best song on this fucking album 

fearless leader: you’ve literally listened to one song

village idiot: I JUST REALIZED WE’VE NEVER PICKED A GC NAME

village idiot: changing that rn

_village idiot named the groupchat #raphisoverparty!_

village idiot: MIKEY HURRY LOCK THE GROUPCHAT SETTINGS SO HE CAN’T CHANGE IT

yeahbuddy: done and done ;)

sis: I CAMT VBRETAHT

genius: casey PLEASE

fearless leader: OH MY GOD I JUST CHOKEKSEJ

fearless leader: he’s going to kill you

imgonna end you: WHY CANT I CHANGE THE FUCKING GROUPCHAT NAME

imgonna end you: MIKEY CHANGE THE FUCKING SETTINGS

yeahbuddy: no

imgonna end you: you LITTLE BITCH IM GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOUR STUPID UGLY FAT HEAD IM GONNA FIND YOU AND RIP YOU APART LIMB FROM LIMB AND THEN STICK THEM SO FAR DOWN YOUR HEAD THAT YOU SHIT THEM OUT

fearless leader: RAPH STOPF;SD

sis: IM HAVING A BREAKDOWNAWDK\

imgonna end you: AFTER THAT IM GONNA THROW YOU AND YOUR BODY LIMBS INTO A FUCKING SHARK TANK AND THEN IM GONNA FUCKING SIT BACK AND ENJOY EATING YOUR PIZZA FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY WHILE YOU CRY BECAUSE YOUR LIMBS ARE BEING EATEN BY FUCKING SHARKS. AND WILL I FUCKING CARE FUCK NO 

yeahbuddy: lol

yeahbuddy: ok rep stannie 

\--

stabby stab: did mikey get killed

fearless leader: it took me donnie and casey to hold raph back

sis: RAPH THREW HIS PHONE AT MIKEYS HEAD AND IT BROKE SO NOW DONNIE’S FIXING IT WHILE THE REST OF US WATCH

sis: sensei says that raph and mikey arent allowed to be in the same room together 

stabby stab: for how long

sis: until raph stops destroying the lair

stabby stab: so...a month? a year?

village idiot: depends on how long raph wants to hold a grudge

fearless leader: i hope they sort it out before christmas

fearless leader: don’t want a repeat of last years incident

sis: i thought we promised never to mention last years incident

fearless leader: you’re 100% right but modern problems require last years solutions

stabby stab: what was last years incident i was drunk as fuck

sis: mikey called raph a noodlehead and raph tried to stab him while you cheered them on

stabby stab: OH that incident

stabby stab: THAT WAS SO FUNNY WHY DOES NO ONE WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT

sis: KARAI PLEASEKSFDJSL A HOMICIDE WAS ALMOST COMMITED

village idiot: sometimes i wonder why we are the way we are

fearless leader: and then you remember that we are the craziest coolest family ever right

village idiot: no i just wonder why we are the way we are

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....christmas is gonna be messy asf for them this year too LAISDFJAD also taylor's biggest mistake was not releasing this album in the fall it is an AUTUMN album and im pretending that it is
> 
> AM I REALLY ELEVEN CHAPTERS INTO THIS SHIT. yes yes i am


	12. mikey gets high

yeahbuddy: hey <3

imgonna end you:

yeahbuddy: hi raph are u still mad

imgonna end you: I FUCKING DESPISE YOU

yeahbuddy: ur still mad and that’s okay 

yeahbuddy: don’t cry raph

imgonna end you: FUCKINGASS WIPE IM NOT FUCKING CRYING

fearless leader: its two in the morning can you both go to bed

imgonna end you: suck a dick leo im not going to bed

imgonna end you: figuring out how to murder someone

yeahbuddy: We can go drivin' in, on my scooter Uh, you know, just riding in London Alright I love my hometown as much as Motown, I love SoCal And you know I love Springsteen, faded blue jeans, Tennessee whiskey But something happened, I heard him laughing I saw the dimples first and then I heard the accent They say home is where the heart is But that's not where mine lives You know I love a London boy I enjoy walking Camden Market in the afternoon He likes my American smile Like a child when our eyes meet, darling, I fancy you Took me back to Highgate, met all of his best mates So I guess all the rumors are true You know I love a London boy Boy, I fancy you (ooh) And now I love high tea, stories from uni, and the West End You can find me in the pub, we are watching rugby with his school friends Show me a gray sky, a rainy cab ride Babe, don't threaten me with a good time They say home is where the heart is But God, I love the English You know I love a London boy I enjoy nights in Brixton, Shoreditch in the afternoon He likes my American smile Like a child when our eyes meet, darling, I fancy you Took me back to Highgate, met all of his best mates So I guess all the rumors are true You know I love a London boy Boy, I fancy you So please show me Hackney Doesn't have to be Louis V up on Bond Street Just wanna be with you Wanna be with you Stick with me, I'm your queen Like a Tennessee Stella McCartney on the Heath Just wanna be with you (wanna be with you) Wanna be with you (oh) You know I love a London boy I enjoy walking SoHo, drinking in the afternoon (yeah) He likes my American smile Like a child when our eyes meet, darling, I fancy you (you) Took me back to Highgate, met all of his best mates So I guess all the rumors are true (yeah) You know I love a London boy (oh) Boy (oh), I fancy you (I fancy you, ooh) So please show me Hackney Doesn't have to be Louis V up on Bond Street Just wanna be with you I, I, I fancy you, oh Stick with me, I'm your queen Like a Tennessee Stella McCartney on the Heath Just wanna be with you (ooh) Wanna be with you I fancy you (yeah), fancy you Oh, ah

fearless leader: MIKEY

fearless leader: ohmy god

sis: I WOKE UP TO HTISJTELFDK

sis: DID YUO JUST SEND THE ENTIRE SONGSLDF

imgonna end you: IS THAT FUCKIGN LONDON BOY BY TAYLOR FUCKING SWIFT

imgonna end you: I FUCKING HATE THAT SONG 

imgonna end you: IM GONNA KILL YOU

genius: what is

genius: goingon

genius: MIKEY 

genius: one normal day im beggign youu

yeahbuddy: LOLL STAY MAD AS HELL

\--

yeahbuddy: lol ok so i’m drugs

yeahbuddy: on

fearless leader: mikey its obvious you need sleep

yeahbuddy: bro shut the hellup im telling u i was on drugs why arent u mad

fearless leader: because we’re ninja turtles where are we going to get drugs

yeahbuddy: donnie’s like a mad scientist bro

yeahbuddy: i had a dream that i was eating pizza and donnie was totally there too

yeahbuddy: and donnie gave me drugs he was like eat this leo won’t be mad

genius: saw my name hi

genius: no im not a mad scientist and no i don’t have drugs

yeahbuddy: but u did get mad leo

yeahbuddy: and u locked me in the cabinet for 39 years

yeahbuddy: i made friends with the mold

genius: technically, even though mold is a living organism it has the same qualities of any other plant so there’s no way you could become friends with mol

yeahbuddy: he named me mikey i named it robert pattinson 

yeahbuddy: after the hamburger

genius: MIKEY

genius: robert pattinson isn’t a hamburger PLEASE

genius: he plays cedric from harry potter help

fearless leader: god i hate it here

yeahbuddy: WHY DID I EAT HIM THEN DONNIE

genius: you ATE MOLD

yeahbuddy: what was i talking about again

yeahbuddy: OH YEAH I ATE ROBERT

yeahbuddy: he tasted like moldy onions

genius: mikey im begging you 

genius: please go to bed

yeahbuddy: IF I GO TO BED HE’LL ATTACK

genius: do not say robert pattinson

yeahbuddy: ROBERT PATTINSON

yeahbuddy: he’ll eat me from the inside out

yeahbuddy: he wants revenge

fearless leader: donnie please kick him out so he’ll go to bed

genius: I DON’T HAVE ADMIN POWERS LEO

genius: its useless

yeahbuddy: can i eat something that’s come back up

yeahbuddy: lol can i eat something twice

yeahbuddy: guys

yeahbuddy: guyssss

yeahbuddy: u guys are so dumb im dipping

fearless leader: thank god

yeahbuddy: HAH I GOT YOU

genius: LEO YOU MORON

fearless leader: OH

fearless leader: i get it

yeahbuddy: get what

yeahbuddy: lol anyway

yeahbuddy: london boyy 

yeahbuddy: raphie ~~~~~~~~~~ come read this like u read ur wattpad stories

imgonna end you: i really hope you step on a lego

yeahbuddy: kinky

imgonna end you: im so out of here goodbye

yeahbuddy: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :=(

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HSADJKLADA ok so funny story my friend was like "ugh i hate hets imagine being attracted to robert pattinson" and i was like "WHOS ROBERT PATTINSON?? is that a type of hamburger??" and then everyone kept making fun of me it was depressing SORRY I DIDN'T KNOW WHO ROBERT PATTINSON WAS :,( hate it here i get bullied for everything anf for what


	13. its over

fearless leader: hey um

fearless leader: never mind

genius: leo? 

genius: leo this groupchat

genius: why are you suddenly

fearless leader: it's nothing donnie

genius: are you okay?

fearless leader: yeah

genius: you sure?

fearless leader: yes.

-

fearless leader: actually don 

fearless leader: can i vent

genius: what’s going on are you hurt

fearless leader: i’m just really tired

fearless leader: like more than usual

fearless leader: we stopped our entire world from getting destroyed by a BLACK HOLE and we got to go to space and

fearless leader: and

fearless leader: shredder is

genius: leo

fearless leader: but so is splinter

fearless leader: after everything

fearless leader: we went to SPACE to bring him back

fearless leader: well not just him but 

fearless leader: shredder killed him and we went back six whole months to fix that and the world

fearless leader: and he dies anyway?

fearless leader: its not fair

genius: leo 

genius: hold on

fearless leader: donnsie

genius: leo

yeahbuddy: great

yeahbuddy: leo says ONE word and we all come running back

yeahbuddy: fucking fantastic

imgonna end you: mikey stop being insensitive for once in your god damn life

genius: we’ll be right there

imgonna end you: he’s in the dojo

Donnie drops his phone on the table and slams his door open, sprinting towards the dojo with his heart in his throat. The groupchat, _their_ groupchat...it hasn’t been used in forever, but Donnie really couldn’t fathom that Leo would be the one to break the silence. A couple months, maybe nine to ten weeks - he's spent _that long_ growing apart from them since their father had died. 

They were all taking Splinter’s death differently - Mikey spent all of his time with Leatherhead or the other Mutanimals, Raph stewed angrily with no outlet since Mikey wasn’t around to annoy him and Casey’s heart wasn’t into beating up petty criminals anymore...and Donnie spent nearly all of his time with April and Casey, who were grieving just like him. Leo, though - he’d taken it the hardest. He managed to lead them to Shredder’s lair and help them finally take that monster down, but Donnie could tell that his long awaited death hadn’t done anything to help ease Leo’s anger. 

Their leader was angry, restless, and going down a destructive path...and with winter finally descending upon them Donnie could just tell that something bad was going to happen. He nearly ran into Raph and Mikey, who were standing at the door of the dojo, and did a double take. This was the first time he’s seen them together in a few weeks at best, the first time he'd seen the two of them, _and_ Leo. They avoided eachother like the plague at this point, and Donnie wonders how the relationship with his brothers got so bad. He still remembers laughing with them in the groupchat, with Mikey sending Taylor Swift songs to purposely piss Raph off. That had been months ago. It's - 

It's all -

The grief rose in his throat but he swallowed it down just as fast, reminding himself that Leo was first right now. A little voice reminded himself that Leo was _always_ first, but grits his teeth and sighs. _Not the time, Donnie. Breakdown later, get through this._

Their oldest brother was pacing haphazardly in the dojo, back and forth and back and forth. His phone lay in pieces on the floor and one of his swords was stuck in the tree trunk. Donnie sighs, sadly, as Mikey steps forward to confront him by placing his weathered hand on Leo’s shoulder. Leo knocks it off, refusing to make eye contact and tries to sidestep Mikey to keep pacing. “Leave me alone, Mikey,” Leo says, deep and gravelly and Donnie knows his vocal chords are acting up again. Mikey doesn’t give up that easily, stepping in front of Leo to block him again. Donnie can see the sadness, and the anger, in the orange-banded turtle’s eyes, as much as he tried to hide it. It hurts Donnie, more than anything, just to stand in this room with them. Knowing that they, Karai, April and Casey are the only family he’s got left.

“Leo. Talk to us.” Mikey says, and that statement is so hypocritical it makes Raph scoff and Donnie blink. They hadn’t done any talking in weeks, and _those_ are the first words out of his mouth? He can tell Leo’s following that thought process as he glares down at his youngest brother. Raph intervenes, then - maybe to get Leo’s attention off of Mikey, maybe because he was itching for a fight after going cold turkey for the better part of a month. Beating up the lowlife criminals didn't give him that same edge, but what did anymore?

“I don’t want to _talk about it_.” Leo spits back, taking his eyes off Mikey to glare at Raph. Donnie feels like he should say something, but his throat is dry and ragged and he’s suddenly so tired. 

“I know you...you’re beat up over Splinter, Leo -

“Shut the fuck up, Raph. No, just shut the fuck up,” Leo seethes, because Raph had already opened his mouth to argue back. “You were _there_ , you and April both. You fucking saw it happen, hell, you could have stopped it - 

“How fucking dare you?” Raph shouts back, loud and angry and seething, and Mikey falls away, back to the safety of Donnie. “ _Fuck you_! You don’t get to say that! We were on the roof of a building, Shredder sent Casey clean off and Slash got _electrocuted_ , I could barely stand and April was doing everything she fucking could to protect me! He was too strong - and I -

“You what?” Leo smirks, mouth twisting into something horrible. “Weren’t strong _enough_?” 

Raph lunges at him, sais out and at the ready. Rage clouded him completely, itching to make Leo hurt for his nasty words. Leo’s ready for him, grinning sagely as he dodges, twisting expertly out of range to pull his katana out of the tree. They’re about to meet halfway before Mikey rushes forward again and gets between the two of them, using his nunchucks to pull Leo’s and Raph’s weapons from their unsuspecting hands. “Stop!” he screams, and Donnie can see the tears rushing down his face. “Just... _stop_.” 

They surprisingly _do_ stop, maybe just from the shock of having their weapons suddenly being snatched from them. Mikey exhales, dropping his chucks and falling to his knees, bringing his hands to his face and laughing. It quickly turns into a sob, echoing throughout the room and hitting them all hard. Donnie swallows, walks towards Mikey but doesn’t really make it there, falls short of comforting him and falls to his knees in front of his youngest brother. “He only said goodbye to you, Leo.” Mikey gets between ragged breaths and hiccups. “ _That’s_ why I haven’t been here in weeks.”

“Mikey -

“ _No_ , shut up. Let him talk,” Donnie snaps at Leo, and Raph too, because they always did this shit to Mikey, _always always always_ , and they were about to do it again. Donnie reaches a hand out to Mikey and his younger brother relaxes slightly at the touch. 

“He only said goodbye to you, Leo!” Mikey repeats fearlessly, anger replacing the tears as he glares up at the blue banded turtle. “You get to be the boss of the fucking ‘Hamato Clan’, you’re the leader now, the Sensei - and what, you yell at Raph because he couldn’t _get_ to him in time? Do you even know what you’re _saying_? _What the fuck is wrong with you_?”

“ _Mikey, stop -_

“Some fucking big brother you are!” Mikey shouts, standing to get into Leo’s face. Raph’s mouth is open, jaw to the floor and for once completely speechless, while Donnie looks on, completely unsurprised. He knew this was coming - it was unavoidable. And a small bit of Don doesn’t mind it, as destructive as it sounded. They were tearing eachother apart and Leo was making it worse by essentially blaming Splinter's death on their hot-headed brother. “You got _everything_ handed to you, our entire lives, he always put you first, _ALWAYS_! Oh, it’s your destiny, Leo! Manage the team! Control what we do, how much we train -

Leo shakes his head, mystified. “Shredder’s gone, but that doesn’t mean anything, it’s still dangerous out there -

Mikey laughs at that, uncontrolled and devastated and so, so angry. “What are we gonna fight, Leo? Fishface?” he snickers a bit at that. Taking Shredder’s henchmen down were a trivial matter at that point, they didn’t even have to try in the fights anymore. “Bebop and fucking _Rocksteady_? Don Vizioso? Admit it, we aren’t ninjas anymore, there _is_ no war to fight. We have all the time in the world, you just...can’t handle it.” 

“I’m your Sensei, Michelangelo, what I say goes - 

“Oh, fuck it, I’m not gonna even try anymore.” Mikey throws his hands up and nearly slaps Raph. “It’s like speaking to a Kraang! I’m out of here, it’s obvious you don’t give a shit. I’m tired of always being your go-to happy, silly, _stupid_ one that you expect to just...bend over and follow your orders. You and Raph have done that to both me _and_ Don for years, with your stupid A-team B-team bullshit. Fuck that, I’m out.”

And with that Mikey turns and stalks out of the room, reaching out with his fingers to brush over Donnie’s left shoulder... and he’s gone for good. Its silent in the dojo, just Donnie and Raph and Leo, and Donnie should probably feel devastated because everything was falling between his fingers but all he feels is...proud. Mikey stood up to Leo, had literally walked out. Nothing was going to be the same anymore.

Leo and Raph are still, probably in shock, and Donnie stands. Leo’s eyes follow the movement, and just for a second Don can see the desperation and grief in his oldest brother’s eyes. Raph, despite being ready to throw fists with Leo only minutes earlier, walks carefully around Donnie and over to Leo instead of going after Mikey. Reaching out to grasp Leo’s shoulder, speaking quietly and Donnie can _barely_ hear, but what Raph says definitely makes his blood boil. “I know you probably didn’t mean what you said, Fearless. N’ that shit you said hurt, but none of us are in our right minds, Mikey included - 

Leo offers a thankful, tentative smile back at Raph, clearly ready to make an apology - but Donnie snaps. “Mikey wasn’t in his ‘right mind’? He told the whole truth! You’ve always been Splinter’s favorite, Leo! You and Raph, both of you, Splinter would _always_ pick you both first because you will, always will be, better than us. And I’m tired of it,” Donnie decides, because he really is, seeing Leo and Raph stand there and act like Mikey’s words didn’t have any semblance of truth in them. “Mikey had the right idea. I'm leaving.”

And he turns and stalks out, the same way his brother did only seconds before. Leo calls after him, hurt and broken, and Raph doesn't say a word, just stares after him with a dead, lifeless look, and that only makes Donnie angrier. He needed a fucking _vacation_. Whatever had happened in that dojo, whatever had inspired it...Donnie needed to get out of there. He was exhausted, so exhausted.

Wait. Hold on. He rushes back to the lab, grabbing his phone off the desk and hoping that Mikey really hadn’t completely disappeared yet.

_genius - yeahbuddy_

genius: mikey where are you

yeahbuddy: turnstiles, i’m about to leave

genius: where are you going

yeahbuddy: no idea just wanted to leave lol

yeahbuddy: fuck them

yeahbuddy: leo with his shitty attitude, acting like he’s so much better

yeahbuddy: i’m tired of it

genius: he’s hurting, mikey  
  


yeahbuddy: oh come on don 

yeahbuddy: we're ALL hurting.

genius: who am i kidding

genius: fuck him and raph both.

yeahbuddy: that's the idea!

genius: listen i have an idea

yeahbuddy: yes im listening

genius: do you want to go on a vacation?

yeahbuddy: with winter coming this quickly?? & us being mutants?? 

yeahbuddy: yes of course let’s go

genius: that was fast

genius: it wouldn’t be just us 

genius: im gonna ask april and casey too

yeahbuddy: oh fuck OFF you guys do ur stupid pda shit eveywhere

genius: they’ve missed you mikey 

yeahbuddy: i miss them too but that’s not the point

genius: if we go on a vacation with them then i PROMISE i won’t do that much pda with them

genius: not that you can see

yeahbuddy: fine whatever they can come i just wanna get out of here

yeahbuddy: can i make the gc

genius: go ahead

yeahbuddy: thanks dee

-

_yeahbuddy added village idiot, sis, and genius to the chat!_

yeahbuddy: okay so 

yeahbuddy: leo and raph are being complete fucking assholes

yeahbuddy: well mostly just leo but raph is being a moron i hate him rn 

yeahbuddy: lol b team for the win

yeahbuddy: so me n don are taking a vacation!! and we want u guys to come too

village idiot: sweet yes of course

sis: CASEY please you can't just agree to that right off the bat

sis: where would we go? how long would we be gone? would we miss christmas?

genius: maybe two weeks, i think we have the budget?

yeahbuddy: yeah we have the budget lol 

yeahbuddy: remember when karai and leo and shinigami raided that temple thingy when leo went behind our backs that one time

village idiot: yeah

sis: oh yeah 

genius: mikey what did you do

yeahbuddy: hey shut up don >:( wasn’t me surprisingly

yeahbuddy: leo told us they burnt the place down but i found him harboring a shit ton of that money in his room 

sis: OHYMFS

genius: holy shit that money was laundered??? he just... took it??

genius: i would have thought raph would be the one to pull something like that, not leo

genius: it's kinda out of character

genius: guess i didn't know him nearly as well as i thought i did

village idiot: how much money WAS there mike

yeahbuddy: easily a couple grand

genius: and im guessing you took some of it

yeahbuddy: OBVIOUSLY i took some of it

yeahbuddy: what’s leo gonna do with all that money anyway? build a sex dungeon?

genius: MIKEY

village idiot: MIKEY

sis: MIEKYLRJD

village idiot: well i mean

village idiot: that solves the money issue 

village idiot: april it IS winter break

village idiot: come on we just fought in a war, we haven’t been out of this city for a few years

yeahbuddy: well

village idiot: space doesn’t count 

sis: fine 

sis: i was humoring you guys anyway 

sis: the atmosphere around here and the lair is fucking depressing im tired of it

sis: i’d do something drastic like join the foot if i didn’t get a break

genius: i think you’d look hot in the foot clan

village idiot: ^

yeahbuddy: WHAT THE HELL DID I SAY ABOUT PDA

genius: MIKEY WE’RE TEXTING

yeahbuddy: still?????

yeahbuddy: ANYWAY where are we gonna have a vacation??

village idiot: why don’t we go wherever we want? 

village idiot: lets do a great road trip, we’ve never done one of those before

village idiot: fuck the plans

village idiot: let’s just wing it

genius: leo would have a heart attack if he saw that

village idiot: it’s a good thing leo isn’t coming with us then :)

yeahbuddy: tomorrow then :D

sis: cool!! i’ll go get some snacks

yeahbuddy: lets pack, don!

genius: we can take the party wagon & ill write leo and raph a note

genius: hopefully when we get back things will be better

genius: we just really really need a break

yeahbuddy: nothing like a spontaneous road trip :DDDDDDDDDDD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey LMAO u thought shit would rly be light and easy forever huh...sucks to suck mfs


	14. us when we talk it out i like that a lot

Donnie doesn’t sleep, but it's different tonight. 

It’s different compared to the last couple years - he’d always had a project to work on, something to fix or enhance or _do_. It was two in the morning, bordering on three, and Donnie knows he needs to sleep. They’re leaving in the morning, him and Mikey and Casey and April going off to who knows where for a couple weeks. He knows he needs it, knows that they all need to get away, but he feels regret pouring in from what happened earlier.

The more he thinks about the impromptu road trip, the more he realizes they just can’t do it. They can’t leave Leo and Raph here alone, in the lair all by themselves. It’s not right, and as mad as he is at Leo and Raph he _knows_ that they’re still his brothers and they’re hurting just as much as he is.

He should have kept his temper under control. Tried to work with Leo and Raph instead of stalk off like a little diva. He -

He could have -

- _tried_ to be a better brother? He’s pretty much failed at that now, hasn’t he?

Tears slip down his cheeks, and Donnie groans, taking his hands and pressing them to his forehead. It was just so hard, fighting and being attacked and being invaded and losing their home and their father and dying and the list went on and on and fucking _on_ and he was so, so tired. He’d managed to keep it under control for so long - _too long_ , speaking in that fucking groupchat with the rest of his family like they weren’t fucked up. Taking down enemy after enemy because it was their job and it was what they were supposed to do -

And the way they _acted_ , like they were some normal family, had Harry Potter movie marathons and ate pizza and don’t even get him _started_ on how he and his brothers were _mutants_ and his father was a _mutant rat_ who was also dead now and and _and_

Splinter had been the breaking point, Donnie realized, tears coming harder now as he lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling without really seeing it. They’d never really talked like they had in the dojo. Mikey never blows up, Leo never directly antagonizes Raph like that, Raph never backs down so willingly from a fight. They’re so out of character because.

Because _it’s not their characters_. Not anymore. The front that they put up, Leo being fearless, Raph being strong, Mikey being innocent and goofy. They’re _masks_. And they’re finally falling apart.

Donnie shakes to a start with that realization, sitting up and staring blankly at the door. He scrubs his eyes after a minute, shoving the blankets aside and walking out of his room, about to go down the hallway and towards the kitchen. Masks be damned, Donnie was getting his fucking coffee.

A voice halts his movement - and Donnie, suddenly feeling wide awake, tenses. He left his staff in his room, _fuck_ , _they really couldn’t deal with an intruder right now, not when everyone was so scattered -_

But then he recognizes the voice and pauses. The noise was _Mikey_ , and it was coming from his room. Curiously, Donnie makes his way across the hallway towards his youngest brother’s room and freezes. He - Mikey...he’s _crying_.

-

Mikey _can’t_ sleep, but that’s not unusual anymore. 

He tosses an action figure between his hands without knowing which action figure it is. Without _caring_ what action figure it was. He just doesn’t care anymore.

And if he repeats that enough times, maybe he’ll eventually believe it. 

He was so, so, so unbelievably tired. Exhausted. Every step felt like he was going backwards, not forwards, and he’s struggling to find positive things to think anymore. There wasn’t anything to be happy about - they lost their Dad, their family was breaking apart at the seams, and -

And Mikey and Donnie were leaving in the morning to ditch Leo and Raph on a barely planned road trip? It would just divide them more, not bring them together. Mikey sighs, turning onto his side so he can stare at the Chris Bradford poster on the wall. For some reason it made him angry. Why did he still have a picture of that asshole in his room? Bradford was so arrogant and full of himself and had literally tried to kill him and his family hundreds of times… well, the asshole finally got what he deserved. Leatherhead drowned him at the bottom of the lake, as he _should_. 

He smiles a bit at that, but the smile drops as he remembers he _shouldn’t_ be smiling. Especially not for that reason, but - 

Tears well up in his eyes. Was he really that fucked up? Was he changed that much to where he smiles in the face of his enemies’ death? That’s not who he is -

\- _except it is,_ his mind reminds him unhelpfully. He’s a veteran at this point - the Kraang, the Triceratons, Shredder, with about ten million horrors between them. He’s got so much trauma packed into his teenage self it’s boggling. He knows he’s not the only one, either - his brothers, April, Casey, Shinigami, _Karai_ \- it was horrible what they had been through, and when they thought it was over, _finally_!

Splinter had been taken from them, too. And that had been everything to top it all off, the landslide he’s been forced upwards for years. Mikey simply couldn’t take it, running away for two months to the Mutanimals because it hurt to see them but not as much as it hurt to see his family, to be in the lair with them. Raph had stewed in his anger and grief and Donnie had turned to April and Casey and _Leo_ \- 

Mikey’s breath hitches, breath and vision getting faster and faster and what the _fuck -_

_they lost EVERYTHING! everything everything everything they couldn’t have one thing without it being hurt or destroyed or ruined or or or KILLED its too much too much toomuch_

Mikey rolls over, burying his face in his pillows as he feels the panic gripping his mind increase tenfold. His hands pinch scratch into his arms, over and over again as he sobs and pinches and scratches -

\- and suddenly _Donnie’s_ there, pulling his calloused hands away from his arms and Mikey sobs harder as Donnie pulls him upwards, into his gripping embrace. “I-I _can’t,_ Donnie I _can’t_ it hurts so much make it STOP make it stop make it _stop_ -

“I’m here I’m here I’m here I’m not going _anywhere_ Mikey,” Donnie reminds him, pulling him even closer into the hug. “It’s okay, we’re okay, Leo and Raph and I are okay, April and Casey are okay, everyone’s still okay -

And then Donnie stops, because he’s a total idiot and _no_ , no one was even close to being okay, not anymore. Mikey lets out a shuddering laugh between his sobs and buries his face into Donnie’s neck as he completely relinquishes control over his body for once and allows himself to feel all of the grief in his body instead of swallowing in back down. He feels Donnie's tears and they cry together, holding onto eachother so hard it hurts but its better than being alone, _anything_ is better than being alone again.

And when Mikey carefully pulls away a couple minutes later, and Donnie asks if he’s okay and Mikey shakes his head no but he says he _will be_ , it's worth all the pain just to see a bit of the anxiety leave Don’s rigid shoulders. They exhale together, chuckling nervously and scrubbing their exhausted eyes.

“I’m kinda...thirsty, though. My throat’s dry,” Mikey admits, to which _Donnie_ admits that he was going to refuel on his coffee addiction before he heard Mikey in his room. Slapping his brother’s arm lightly for getting coffee at two in the morning, he makes the suggestion to go and get something to drink, which Donnie hastily agrees to.

But as they leave Mikey’s room, Mikey puts a hand out in front of Donnie’s plastron, causing the taller turtle to stop where he stood, surprised. The serious look on Mikey’s face causes Donnie to tense yet again. Was there an intruder?

Mikey doesn’t relax, just becomes a bit less stiff as he nods in the direction of the dojo. _Leo_ , he mouths, and Donnie exhales faintly.

-

Raph’s too anxious to even _consider_ sleep, but that’s almost normal now.

He’s mad. He’s so mad, and that anger turns to grief, and that grief turns back into anger. Unchanneled anger. He curls his fists, uncurls his fists, takes deep breaths, counts up to 100 and then back down again, but he can’t focus, he _can’t_ -

He’s not pissed at Leo, for probably the first time in his entire life. What Leo said had cut deep, and it threw him off. In the dojo it almost seemed like Leo had truly believed that Raph was at fault for what had happened to their sensei, and Raph couldn’t handle that. He had been wondering the same thing and _was it really his fault if Leo’s saying it’s his fault with THAT voice and that much conviction it must be true and_

But Raph hadn’t listened to that familiar pull of anger, also for the first time in his life. Raph had looked into their leader’s eyes after his weapons had been forced from his hands. They held so much pain, so much grief and confusion and anger and he knew instantly that Leo didn’t mean a word of what he said. He was baiting Raph, maybe looking for a fight or a sense of normalcy or _whatever_ , that didn’t matter - but Raph could clearly see in every inch of his body that Leo blamed himself for what had happened. 

He’s glad that Mikey took his weapons. He wouldn’t have seen Leo’s expression otherwise.

He should have called Leo out on it, should have forced the others to finally _talk_ about what was happening instead of separating again. But Mikey had told their leader off for the first time in their entire lives, (and even Raph has to admit that he brought up some good points about Leo’s future in leading the Clan) and quite literally walked out. They had lost Donnie next, who was angry and upset that Mikey was being ignored yet _again_. The two younger brothers were _right_ , him and Leo both had making up to do. What Mikey had been shouting - about Splinter, about Leo, about the future of the clan - hadn't left Raph's mind. 

Raph closes his eyes, leans back against the wall as he realizes that he could really be a shitty older brother. An _abusive_ one, even. The thought sends Raph reeling and he grips the sai clutched in his hand. _I'm a monster, aren't I?_

Mikey was right, Donnie was right. The A-team B-team shit had been so incredibly stupid straight from the get-go, dividing them up years ago because of their petty arguments. It was harmful, hurtful towards the younger two. Raph might look up to Leo, but he loves all of his brothers equally. He couldn’t live without Mikey or Donnie, and not because they were essential to keeping the team afloat. _He loved them._ They were the biggest parts of his family, besides April and Casey and Leo, that he’d do absolutely anything for. 

They were messy, confusing...and never made sense. But nothing in their crazy upside down lives ever did. And -

he needs to - 

\- talk with them? Fix this? Was that even _possible_ anymore?

He needs to try. He can't lose them, too.

He steps out into the living room of their lair, fully intending on getting a drink to soothe his headache, instantly spotting Mikey and Donnie standing by the door of the dojo. Raph narrows his eyes, wondering what the hell was going on and why Don and Mike were awake, when he hears another voice. A desperate, quiet, _broken_ voice. His eyes widen as he registers the words. Recognizes who’s talking. _No.._

“F-Father, I _can’t_ -

-

Leo sobs openly, alone in the dark dojo. Kneeling in front of the shrine, in front of the family pictures that Splinter had worked so hard to keep in the best shape, he falls apart. “F-Father, I _can’t_ -

It hurts, more than anything he’s ever faced before. He’s dealt with the unthinkable, has done and fought and lived through things he probably shouldn’t have. He’s exhausted - physically, mentally, and spiritually, and it _just_ -

He doesn’t have a word for the pain. It’s excruciating, something he can’t even begin to fathom facing. He doesn’t _want_ to be the Sensei, he doesn’t want to lead his brothers anymore. He wants his Dad back, he wants things to go back to how they used to be. To where Mikey was yelling at him over text about his fucking punctuation and how he wrote his sentences, not the Mikey that walked out on him because Leo couldn’t control himself. His irrational anger, his grief - it was overtaking him and Leo _knew_ that it was but he was helpless to stop it.

“A couple...months back,” Leo hiccups, talking to the empty room and pausing like he expected a response. “I had a dream where you died, Father. And I couldn’t stop it…” he laughs without humor. “It came true. Like my mind had foreshadowed it or something. Isn’t that funny?” he chokes on the emotion that comes rising up his throat and grips his knees tightly. “It was my fault, what happened to you. Not Raph’s. I was wrong for saying that, and I know he forgave me, but it wasn’t right...I should have known it was a trap, that Shredder would do anything to divide us to get you alone...

“...why did it have to be you? And why did it have to be me? Why was I chosen to be leader? What was so special about me that I always got the special attention - the one on one chats with you, the praise, the...the fucking _healing hands thing_ ,” Leo says, curling his fists. “You taught that to _me_ , not Donnie, even though Don’s the fucking scientist and our medic and about twenty other million things. And...and Mikey, he’s more than just an energetic mind, he’s not dense - he _has_ natural talent that you never explored. Raph, well, we’re complicated, but he has my back, he has _all_ of our backs. He’s more than an angry face, and no matter how many times we piss him off he’ll always come back. They’re what keeps me going. They’ve been here when you weren’t, when you _couldn’t_.”

“You may have loved them, but you never _liked_ them, did you?” Leo sighs, wrapping his arms around his shoulders as he continues. “I was your golden child, your star pupil. And that isn’t - it _wasn’t_ right. It was _neglectful_ , and I bought into it. I did the same thing, I _still_ -” he trails off as he remembers how he treated his family earlier in the dojo. What he told them. If this continued he was going to be Splinter 2.0. “I have to fix this. I can’t let what happened - what happened to you tear us apart…”

Leo finally feels the three pairs of eyes on his back and closes his eyes, knowing that they had heard every word that he said. Dreading the conversation to come. “I miss you, Father, and it hurts so much to not have you here with us, but...maybe it was your time to go. Maybe this is all happening for a reason.”

He stands, turns towards his brothers, feels the remainder of his tears dripping off his chin. _Come on, scream at me. I deserve it._

The lights get switched on and everyone flinches, but Leo steps forward, back towards his brothers, and the effect is immediate. Mikey’s crying, Donnie’s crying, fuck, even _Raph’s_ crying, though not nearly as much as their younger brothers. Leo doesn’t do much besides stare at them, exhausted and wary and still a bit surprised that they’re here. This is the second time they’ve been together in months, _months_ , and -

“You! You, _you fucking_ , I hate you! God I hate you so much,” Mikey splutters angrily, choking on the emotion clogging his throat, but he embraces Leo anyway and the tears come back from the oldest, stronger and messier as he grips his younger brother’s shell. It hurts so much, _so so much_ , and Leo doesn’t know how to do anything else besides break down.

“I’m s-sorry, Mikey,” Leo finally falls apart, the pain almost becoming unbearable and he can’t even get the words out. “I’m sorry, I can’t... _please - just don't go, please -_

"I'm staying right here, dude. Promise," Mikey whispers, and Leo sags in relief.

Donnie and Raph come over to them, and Mikey, still not relinquishing his hold on Leo, falls to his knees with him. They’re loose, unorganized, messy, but Leo just doesn’t _care_ anymore. Donnie rests his head on Leo’s shoulder, scooting even closer, while Raph throws an arm around all of them, and they just...sit there for awhile, in their little huddle, just the four of them. 

Eventually they pull apart, rubbing their eyes and giving weak laughs when Raph, who’s obviously still choked up, is the one to complain about them being all ‘sappy’. Leo, tears still trailing down his face, just - he starts talking, throwing up all of these things he’s kept hidden since the moment their Father hit that dirty street that rainy night.

“I just - it feels like I can’t go on without him,” Leo starts. “And it wasn’t your fault, Raph. It _wasn’t_. It was mine. I should have realized that that was his plan all along, we shouldn’t have split up and I’ll have to live with that forever…” the fleeting sense of panic tries to wrap around him again but he doesn’t let it, forcefully keeping himself grounded with three of the most important people in his life. 

“It wasn’t your fault either, Leo,” Donnie says, gripping his hand firmly. “By that logic you could say Mikey and I should have seen that he was trying to separate us - and we didn’t. Neither did you. It was a mistake, sure, but it _wasn't_ your fault.”

Leo drops his head in resignation, nodding even though he didn’t truly believe it. He moves on, finding it a bit easier to open up now that he knew that they were really listening. He apologizes to Mikey for earlier, for acting like an entitled prick. “I’m not your Sensei,” he tells them, “I’m not. I can’t ever fill the hole that Splinter left, and I don’t _want_ to ever do that. I want to be your leader, not your father. I’m your _brother_ , first and foremost. And that will never, ever change.”

Mikey smiles at that, _really_ smiles, for the first time in forever, and Leo thinks that he’s finally doing a couple of things right. “I can’t really apologize for this, since it’s Splinter’s mistake, but…” Leo trails off. “He neglected you guys, he gave me more attention, and I’m sorry I never brought it up with him or tried to fix it, it’s so fucked up and I feel so guilty -

The quick murmurings of ‘it’s okay’ and the shushing noises that his brothers make lead Leo to realize the complete opposite, that they really _don’t_ think it’s okay, but he lets it go for now. They’d divulge Splinter’s bad parenting in the future, but not tonight.

“Okay, um...one more thing. For all of you, then I’ll stop apologizing for a bit, I promise. I’m sorry for being so... condescending, to all of you. For acting so superior and just. Disgusting. I don’t want to be like that, not to you guys, not anymore. So...um, please call me out on it if I do it in the future.”

“Apology accepted, thank you, Leo, and will do.” Donnie nods, and the others mutter assent to that. “I think we just need to be better at communicating overall, don’t you think?”

Oh boy, was that an _understatement._

-

Raph goes next, and the first thing he says makes them all gape.

“So we’re abolishing the ‘teams’ right?”

“Raph?” Donnie asks, shocked and a bit concerned. “Are you alright?”

“No, I’m serious!” Raph says genuinely, feeling a bit hurt that _that’s_ their first reaction. “A-team, B-team, _fuck_ it. It was so fuckin’ dumb, y’know? Puttin’ us all in little boxes like that. We all have our different strengths, as different as they are. Fighting - beatin’ shit up, it's not all of our passions, n’ I didn’t respect that. And I’m sorry,” Raph apologizes, because he really, really is. “I don’t want to divide us anymore.” 

The stunned silence is broken as his brothers fucking _smile_ and Raph’s smiling back, and they’re just grinning for a bit before Raph coughs hurriedly and moves on. “I...noticed a few things about myself, when we were...not talking. How I treat Mikey, and...and you, Don. It’s...fuckin’ _abusive_ , how I can’t control my anger, and I’m so _sorry_ for all the pain I caused ya instead of talking it out like normal fuckin’ people -

Don’s gaping, Mike’s spluttering again, Leo’s staring at him in shock, and Raph doesn’t even know how the words came out of his mouth, how he admitted to being such a big asshole, but he already feels so much better now that they know that he _knows_ he’s a big asshole. It still doesn’t stop him from clamming up, tense and waiting for the fallout. “I -

“Thank you,” Mikey says softly. “Raph, thank you, _thank you_ -

“For what?” Raph asks, confused because he really is a _monster_ sometimes and his brothers shouldn’t be forced to deal with that anymore -

“No, Raph please that isn’t true,” Donnie grips his knees, eyes wide and _holy shit_ he actually said that out loud? _Stupid mouth stupid fucking brain stupid everything -_

“You aren’t a monster!” Leo snaps, angry and desperate for him to understand and so, so sad. Mikey and Don nod with Leo furiously, heads blurry because Raph was so fucking _exhausted_ and he can’t even track the motion without blinking languidly. “You aren’t, and we can fucking confirm that because we’ve _fought_ monsters, hundreds and thousands of them. And you’ve had our backs every single time - 

“That doesn’t mean a thing, Leo, I’ve hurt Mike and Don so many times both with m’ words and fists, and you too, I've been such a prick -

“And Don and I _forgive_ you for that, Raph, because you’re genuine about it and it’s obvious you give a shit, unlike the _actual_ monsters we’ve faced. And so does Leo, he loves you, we love you so _much_ ,” Mikey grabs Raph’s free hand, squeezing so hard it was painful. “We’ll get better, we will overcome this, we _have to_. We love you, all of us. Leo does, April and Casey do, and so do me and Donnie -

“Donnie and I,” Donnie corrects almost instinctively, shrinking under the looks they give him for interrupting Mikey’s little speech. “Sorry -

Raph laughs, really laughs, even though it’s not that funny he’s just so _relieved_ for some dumb fucking reason and he feels like the world had been lifted off of his _shoulders_ and he’s so glad they’re _talking_ why didn’t they do this earlier? Mikey and Leo laugh with him, anything to get that scared, panicked, deer in the headlights look off of Donnie’s face like they were going to _pulverize him_ for correcting Raph what the fuck _-_

And Raph’s crying again, taking deep shuddering breaths as his limbs shake without him really controlling them. He’s tired, so tired, all he wants to do is get away, just for a little bit - doesn’t want to be in the lair and be reminded of their dead father every second...he feels arms around him and instinctively tenses for a fight but it’s just _them_ it’s just his family so he tries to relax.

Raph can let himself fall apart for a second, right? His family’s got him.

-

After Raph pulls himself back together (when has Raph _ever_ cried like that?) with the help from his brothers, Mikey goes next, rubbing his arms nervously. They all stare at him with exhausted smiles, faces full of compassion and eyes that promised that they’d listen to every single word he said. It gives enough courage for Mikey to speak.

“Um, yeah. I’m not innocent in this, like at all. I know I need to ask before I take stuff out of your lab, Don, and. Not get on your nerves as much Raph, or...talk so much sometimes, and _pay attention_ more, and I’m sorry for that, I really am, I just try and make everyone happy but I’m just so _angry_ all the time now and -

“Mikey,” Donnie touches his hand gently, making the little rant die off immediately. “It’s okay. To be mad, to not act all jittery and happy and funny anymore. You don’t need too - 

“But I _do,_ Don, that’s my thing. Like how you’re the smart one, Raph’s the strongest, Leo’s the leader...I’m just supposed to be funny. And lighthearted. And - 

“And that was _before_ Dad died,” Leo reminds him, a faraway gleam in his dark, almost gray eyes. “That was before we lost one of the only constants in our life. Mikey, we’ve been through so, so much. You don’t have to pretend anymore, _none_ of us are the same. We crossed that line such a long time ago.”

“When did we cross the line?” Mikey asks curiously, because they’d been through so much, _too much_ , and then just...moved on. Swept it under the rug with all the other bullshit in their lives. And that was such a stupid thing to do, honestly. It would catch up with them eventually, always did.

“Triceratons, easy.” Raph says. Donnie shakes his head at that.

“No, it was definitely the farmhouse, when we lost Dad the first time and the city got overrun and Leo was out of commission for two months,” they pause to reflect briefly, remembering being stuck in that little house.

“I think it was when we - I, well. I was stupid enough to friend request Bradford,” Mikey says, bringing his knees to his chest and resting his chin, staring at the patterns on the carpet without really looking at them. “It was dumb, even for me. And then a couple weeks later, when we first saw Shredder…”

“Mikey, stop calling yourself dumb,” Donnie sighs, squeezing his hand again, and Mikey dips his head in embarrassment.

“Sorry, it’s just...being called a screwup so many times really ingrains it in you, y’know?” 

His brothers flush guiltily, and Mikey really wants to say something to soften the blow, but he also knows they need to hear it. Looking away from them, he waits for someone else to say something first. 

“It was that bad for you back then?” Leo asks gently. Mikey nods, then shakes his head as he remembers the early times. It was hard, but not _nearly_ as bad.

“It wasn’t all bad! I mean, we met April, then Karai, but I mean, we couldn’t really trust Karai back then…"

“And Leo was also madly in love with her,” Raph starts with a teasing grin, but Leo silences him with a look.

“ _Drop it_ ,” Leo says, and the rest of them chuckle, remembering how stupidly _easy_ it was back then. When they weren’t on everyone’s shit list. It makes them strangely nostalgic, as much as it hurts to think about. 

“I always took it for granted, how we always had each other,” Mikey murmurs eventually, causing his older brothers all to glance at each other and then him, waiting for more. “Like, we’d all grow to be super old, still eating pizza n’ shit. An’ April and Casey and Donnie would like, I don’t know - get married or something, and Karai and Shini, like. They’d pass the Foot down, and we’d all just retire. I used to daydream about it,” he confesses. “Having Splinter die peacefully with us at his bedside, us burying him when it was his actual time to go. I wanted to leave New York, just us and Casey and April and Karai and Shini, we’d just _leave_ , and I know that’s unrealistic because Casey and April still have what’s left of their families and we have the Mutanimals and everything but...sometimes it’s just hard to be here. In this city. After everything that’s happened, I just...want to get out, y’know?”

“That’s not unrealistic, Mikey. I think about it a lot, too. Packing up and just...leaving. I’ve always wanted to see a beach, see a real sunrise and _enjoy_ it,” Leo says, sitting back on his arms as he stretches out. “I mean, we have our duty and everything, and what Splinter said, wanting me to lead the Clan…” he shakes his head. “I just...sometimes I wonder what would happen if we just. Ugh, I don’t know. Left,” at their shocked expressions he elaborates. “I mean, there’s nothing keeping us all here anymore, we’ve stopped like fifteen fucking invasions, I think we need a break by now -

“You’re the _last_ person I’d expect to say something like that,” Raph says, totally in awe. “I don’t know if you’d have it in you to stop, oh Fearless Leader.” 

“You’re one to talk!” Leo snipes back, but he’s not taking the comment seriously, even smirking a bit. “How long could _you_ go before beating something up?”

“Valid,” Raph acknowledges with a shrug. “But yeah, Mike, it’s not unrealistic at all. Maybe one day, when we’re all a bit older...we can just go.”

“You mean it? What about crime fighting? Wouldn’t you miss it?” Mikey asks, surprised that they were agreeing with him on this. 

“There _are_ other criminal strands in America,” Donnie reminds him, smiling gently. “We could be like...international crime fighters.”

“Four ninja turtles, two kunoichi’s, one witch, and one psychotic vigilante with a bad haircut? Hell yeah, we could rule the world,” Leo says, grinning, and they all start laughing. It’s genuine, so _genuine_ , and Mikey just feels so much better, being in this room with them this early and just... _talking_. He’s missed them.

“I love you guys,” Mikey beams, and they look at him with matching beams of their own.

“Love you too, lil’ bro,” Raph tries to put him in a chokehold and noogie his head, but Mikey yelps and falls against Donnie, who cackles and pushes him back towards Raph. Leo watches them with an expression way different from the one he’d worn earlier, that ugliness that appeared earlier in the dojo almost completely gone.

“Mikey, do you, um...wanna talk about anything else?” Leo asks after a minute, when they’ve all calmed down again. He thinks about that, thinks about all the distractions and anxieties and shit that he's dealt with in the past couple of years, the wars and the losses and the trauma, and exhales minutely, shaking his head.

“Not right now, but...um, later. There’s just a lot, y’know? And I wanna give Donnie an opportunity.” Mikey says. “I mean! We’re doing this again, right? This...talking thing?”

“Yes, absolutely,” Leo confirms. “No more disappearing for months, that goes to all of us. Including me.” 

“Okay, then! I’m good.” Mikey grins. “For tonight, at least.” 

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

-

Donnie starts off quietly, but he’s a lot more content with them now, now that they’re all there, willingly listening to everything he’s said. “Listen, since we’re out of wars to fight for the first time _ever_ and we can basically just...do anything now, I don’t want to care so much about building weapons and things like that.”

“Focus more on like... science n’ shit, right?” Raph asks, to which Donnie nods at. “Cool, go ahead. What are we gonna do with war machines anyway? We have nothing to shoot at,” he pouts a little at that, which is so unusual on Raph’s face that it makes them laugh.

“We’re cutting back on training, too.” Leo says, which makes his brothers gape. “Well, I mean - we’d still train at least twice a week to keep our skills up, and we’d still patrol, but there’s no point in like, excessively doing that anymore, right?” Leo sighs, sitting up fully and gazing past Donnie’s head to look at Splinter’s walking cane. “Mikey was right earlier, what are we going to fight?”

“I mean, it’s better to be prepared,” Donnie says with a shrug. “Just in case. I have backup and stuff in the lab, y’know. Quick escape, extra weapons, yadda yadda. If anything were to happen and we’d get dragged back into _another war_ \- 

“Oh god, like that one time where Dregg came back to invade our spaceship even though I swear to fucking _God_ we killed that asshole like fifteen times? We literally caused a war that time, it was so shitty -” 

" _Mikey_!” Donnie snorts. 

“No, no, he’s right!” Leo agrees. “He just wouldn’t die, it was _so_ fucking annoying.”

“Oh _Dregg_? Psh, we ate him for breakfast,” Raph smirks, albeit a little cockily. 

“You mean _we_ ate him for breakfast. You’re just scared of bugs,” Donnie teases (Raph rolls his eyes and holds the middle finger up, grumbling under his breath, but he's grinning). “Anyway,” Donnie says, smiling softly, “I guess the only thing I have to say is that we need to _communicate_ more, talk to each other about what’s happening instead of just,” he gestures expansively.

“Dipping for nine weeks?” Mikey asks.

“Exactly,” Donnie nods. “As the team medic, it’s better for our mental health to not bottle anything up anymore. That _includes_ our problems,” his smile dissipates as he glares at all of them. “And don’t say we’re not fucked up. We are _so_ fucked up. We shouldn’t have to act like, ugh, I don’t know - _normal_ all the time. We’re not normal.”

“Gee, what was your first clue?” Raph mutters, smirking at the glare Donnie aims towards him. “But yeah, cool. Makes sense, Don.”

“Can I still make jokes about our trauma?” Mikey asks with a wry grin.

“Within reason,” Leo tells him. Mikey nods at that, giving Donnie the thumbs up, and Leo agrees hesitantly. “Fine, Don. Just...I don’t know. It’s still hard.” 

“I know,” Donnie says sympathetically. “But we’re all we have left, and we can't just...not anymore, Leo.”

“You’re right, and I agree, but only if _you_ agree, too. Talk to us, Don, don’t shut yourself in your lab anymore.”

Donnie fidgets nervously, but with all three of them staring expectantly he finally caves. “Fine! Fine, okay. Whatever.”

“Is that everything, Don?” Mikey grins excitedly, and Donnie _knows_ he has something to say, and he can already guess what it is. 

“Go ahead, Mikey, tell them.” 

“Tell us wha -

“OKAY! Soo, yesterday after we got into that big and dramatic fight Donnie was like ‘let’s go on a vacation!’ so we enlisted April and Casey to come with us and we’re leaving tomorrow - 

“ _What_ -

“Or I mean, technically today. Shit, in like three hours actually. Anyway yeah we’re leaving for like two weeks and we’re going on a road trip! We have money and everything sorry Leo I kinda stole it from you and your um...private stock but it’s okay you still have like a couple grand -

“ _Mikey_ -

“Yeah that’s pretty much it don’t get mad we wanted to go and April and Casey want to go too but we didn’t want to really leave without talking to you two first because it’s not right to just. Ugh, I don’t know, leave you here? And we were kinda hoping that maybe you’d want to come because we talked everything out -

“Mikey, slow down!” Leo _finally_ manages to get a word in and Donnie has to hide his laughter behind his hands. Both Leo and Raph respectively look shocked and flabbergasted. “So, let me get this straight - you, Don, April, and Casey are going on a road trip to who knows _where_ for two weeks with laundered money?”

“Pretty much, yeah. And not just us, we were hoping you’d come too, now that we’ve talked shit out -

Leo pinches the bridge of his nose, exhaling dramatically. “God, I hate this family.” 

“Is that a yes or a no?” Mikey asks patiently, rocking back and forth on his knees now. Raph snorts, shaking his head with barely controlled laughter of his own. 

“Obviously we’re coming, Mikey!” Raph pushes Leo’s shoulder, grinning. “Come on, big bro, let’s pack.” 

“Wait, you can’t just - we can’t just _go_ -

“Why _not_?” Mikey whines. “Come on, Leo, weren’t you the one talking about wanting to leave and see the beach and a real sunrise and -

“Technically -

“ _Not now, Don, I’m trying to convince Leo -_

“Fine, you know what? Let’s do it,” Leo throws his hands up. “Fuck it. Fuck decision making. This is the worst choice we’ve ever made -

“ _Debatable_ \- 

“ - but it could probably also be the best thing for us right now.”

“I’ll text April and Casey about the change, then,” Donnie says, pulling his phone out.

“What about Ice Cream Kitty?” Leo asks, immediately making a checklist of _shit we have to do before we go on a disastrous road trip for two weeks_. Mikey, filled with sudden energy that hadn't been there seconds before, stands proudly.

“She’s coming with us! We have a little cooler thingy all ready to go,” Mikey grins, twirling his weapons in his hands.

“Wait, if ICK gets to come then so does Chompy!” Raph says, standing up and stretching. Mikey rolls his eyes.

“Yes, obviously Chompy can come too. We just need to have enough room for all the shit we’re taking.”

“If by all the shit we’re taking you mean the ten thousand fucking pizza boxes shoved in the back - 

“ _Shut up_ , Raph, I’m taking more than ten thousand pizzas, don’t you know me -

genius: leo and raph are coming too

sis: did you guys talk it out

genius: yeah

genius: we’re good for now i think

genius: i mean we still have issues but we aren’t avoiding eachother anymore and that’s

genius: idk it feels really nice

village idiot: oh thank god lord jesus finally you guys are actually TALKING

village idiot: family road trip with the whole gang here we comeee

sis: casey why are you awake

village idiot: im excited okay...couldn’t sleep

village idiot: i could ask you the same thing

sis: me too ive packed and repacked like twenty million times

genius: just come over we can get on the road earlier

genius: wait neither of you have slept

genius: FUCK

genius: we didn’t sleep either

sis: PADALREAS what are we gonna do

village idiot: well uh who got the most sleep

“Who got the most sleep?” Donnie asks his brothers, who were milling around and talking eagerly about the road trip. Donnie's...er, _inventions_ weren't ready yet, and he needed sleep before he could consider implementing them.

“Uh…well I went to bed early and woke up around one,” Leo says. Donnie grunts at that and turns his attention back to his phone.

genius: leo’s driving

sis: ok great we’ll be right there

village idiot: ^

“Okay, so April and Casey are coming over right now, and we’re leaving as soon as they get here, also Leo’s driving because he got the most sleep out of all of us,” Donnie relays, and they all freeze, staring down at him. Then Mikey screams, jumping off of Raph’s shoulders and running out of the room like he was being chased by a Kraang ship. 

“ _Fuccckkkkk_ I need to pack!” they hear him yell, and then Raph’s running after him, hopefully to do the same thing. Donnie sighs, shaking his head. They were so dysfunctional it ached. 

“I’m driving?” Leo repeats, like he couldn’t believe it. “Ugh,” he groans, falling back on his shell to stare up at the leaves of the tree. “I wanted to sleep.”

Donnie pats his bent knee sympathetically. “I’ll switch with you after I get a couple hours, Leo. I've got a few ideas.” he promises. Leo grins at that, getting back on his feet and holding a hand out to Donnie.

“Let’s go then, Don,” Leo says, and Donnie takes the hand offered to him, finding his footing and following his brother out of the dojo.

Whatever was going to happen next, Donnie and his family would be ready for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS SHIT TOOK LIKE. THREE DAYS TO WRITE IM SO TIRED anyway. gang is back together goin on a roadtrip i am THINKING about that :D
> 
> anyway um. this will not be NEARLY as upbeat as the first 12 chapters. like at all. i just finished watching the show (im almost done w s5 now lol) and like. they aren't lighthearted all the time. and i want to acknowledge that. and they need a fucking vacation. also acknowledging that. 
> 
> um. next chapter is probably gonna be like a regular story but ill put in little texting bits too don't worry
> 
> also the ending notes will be a bit more detailed im so sorry SALKDJAJD i wanna talk to u guys more i love it here


	15. tomorrow is a long time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the song i listened to repeatedly while writing this was 'tomorrow is a long time' by bob dylan! please listen to it :(

_yeahbuddy added sis, genius, fearless leader, imgonna end you, and village idiot to the chat!_

yeahbuddy: NEW GC NEW ERA

_yeahbuddy changed yeahbuddy’s name to mikeylangelo_

mikeylangelo: new eraaaaa new errraaaaaaaa

imgonna end you: mikey warfj

mikeylangelo: NEW NAMES NEW ERA RAPH

_mikeylangelo_ _changed imgonna end you’s name to chompy’s bitch_

village idiot: BAHSKADLJS NOOOOO NOT CHOMPYSK BITCHOHSFD

sis: I FUCKIGNLSD YELLED

genius: please im asking for one normal day im going to be stuck in this damn car with all of you can we please not make raph mad (yet)

mikeylangelo: donnie u asshat what did we just talk about this morning. nothing ever goes normally for us. which is why. 

_mikeylangelo changed genius’s name to lol threesome_

lol threesome: MIKEY

sis: ICANTJKSLEH

mikeylangelo: i wouldn’t laugh too hard april <3

sis: oh. oh god no mikey please -

_mikeylangelo changed sis’s name to ginger from hell_

ginger from hell: sexy

lol threesome: please.

lol threesome: what the fuck.

_mikeylangelo changed village idiot’s name to shaggy_

shaggy: is it because of the hair

mikeylangelo: maybe

shaggy: can i be scooby 

mikeylangelo: no

shaggy: :(

fearless leader: oh for the love of god no i will not be suffering through this name shit again

chompy’s bitch: MIKEY MAKE LEO’S NAME REALLY BAD

mikeylangelo: COMING RIGHT UP 

_mikeylangelo changed fearless leader’s name to leo listens to despacito_

chompy’s bitch: HELPOGFPSD 

mikeylangelo: flashbacks to when leo learned the entire song

chompy’s bitch: didn’t he only like it because of justin beiber

mikeylangelo: leo is such a jb fan it’s embarrassing 

shaggy: LEO LISTEJKNSD TO JUSTIN BEIBER

mikeylangelo: YES

mikeylangelo: us when we r forced to hear baby & what do u mean in the fucking car for ten whole hours :(

chompy’s bitch: literally my biggest fear

ginger from hell: I WEHEZEL

leo listens to despacito: I DO NOT LISTEN TO DESPACITO

mikeylangelo: FUCKING LIAR YES U DO

mikeylangelo: he knows all the lyrics just wait until we put the song on in the car

ginger from hell: LEO?#$@%@$ that’s it im quitting the hamato clan i can’t handle this

leo listens to despacito: NOO APRIL NOOOOOOOO

lol threesome: god this vacation is going to be a nightmare

mikeylangelo: w that attitude it will be >:( cheer up lol threesome

lol threesome: I CAN’T STAND YOU

-

Donnie raised his exhausted eyes from his phone to glare at his brothers, specifically Mikey, who was texting away with a wily grin on his face. “ _Mikey_ , I can’t believe you told April and Casey I liked Justin Beiber,” Leo drags a hand down his face in mortification. “I thought we were never going to talk about that phase ever again -

“Phase? You _still_ listen to Beiber,” Raph crosses his arms with a smirk. “We’re gonna torture you by putting on his playlist the entire car ride.”

“How is that torture -

“Oh, did I say torture for you? I meant torture for us.”

“Touche.” Leo grumbles. “Don, are April and Casey almost here?”

“They’re almost here. Do we have everything packed?”

“Yes? I think so,” Leo bats the side of Mikey’s face to get his attention. “Do you have ICK?”

“Mhm,” Mikey responds distractedly, finally putting the phone down. “In the cooler, front seat. Also I call shotgun.”

“I call shotgun, asshole!” They hear Casey’s voice from further down the tunnel. Seconds later he and April appear out of the darkness, both carrying an assortment of materials. Backpacks, sleeping bags, there was even a tent (Donnie wonders where they’re going for the umpteenth time, and why in the everlasting _fuck_ do they need a tent). April’s hair is still down, long red hair spilling over her shoulders, and Casey’s hair is still as messy and unkempt as always and he still doesn’t have his fucking hairband fully in yet but Donnie smiles, he just can’t help it. 

“Uh, no, _I_ call shotgun,” April slaps Casey’s shoulder as they approach, and Donnie has to hold himself back from running up to meet them. They both grin at him and Donnie _swears_ he can’t blush, but he feels like he totally is anyway. Mikey squints from the humans to him and back and mutters something that suspiciously sounds like _gross_ under his breath.

“I fucking want shotgun,” Raph interrupts, glaring at their human friends. Donnie sighs. They haven’t seen eachother in weeks and _this_ is how they greet eachother. Of course. 

“Let’s race for it!” Mikey grins, bouncing around. It’s gonna take him _forever_ to go to sleep. Fantastic. 

“Fine, you’re on.” Casey drops his gear right there on the train tracks, and Leo groans as he walks forward, presumably to pick it all up and shove it in the back with all the rest of the shit they’re bringing. April’s a bit more sympathetic, walking round the side of the Party Wagon to unload. 

She’s back seconds later, placing a kiss on Donnie’s cheek and running to join the rest of the guys sans Leo, who are all lined up to race. “Towards the end of the tunnel and back, yeah?” Casey asks, flipping his mask down. “I’m not going easy on you, even if you’re my girlfriend,” he adds as April takes her place next to him. 

April flicks him a cool look. “I wouldn’t expect you too, Jones.” 

“Just checking, Red.”

“Whoever wins gets control of the music,” Mikey reminds them with a smirk, cracking his knuckles. Donnie suddenly had a good idea of who was going to win and pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing audibly at the music they’d be forced to listen too. Leo glances at him in confusion and Donnie mouths back _Mikey._ Leo huffs in exasperation. 

“Go!” Raph shouts, and they’re off.

-

“I can’t fucking _believe_ Mikey won that,” Raph groans from his place in the very back. If they had been taking this trip a few years back, when they had lost New York, he’d be squished in with all of the other luggage. But with Donnie’s upgrades on the Party Wagon, he had a little more room to stretch out.

 _Which_ he boasted about, but then _Mikey_ had to boast about getting shotgun, so the two of them have been arguing about it for the past fifteen minutes as they left the city limits. Donnie was done after minute two, resolving to ignore his squabbling siblings for as long as it took. 

In the middle seats, Donnie and Casey sat next to eachother while April leaned against the window, propping her legs across both of their laps. She was shooting a quick text to Karai and Shini because apparently _no one_ had thought to message them about their vacation beforehand. After a minute she gets a response. “Karai’s mad because she can’t come,” she informs the rest of her friends.

“And Shini?”

“Wants the lair when we’re gone.”

"Tell her to stay out of my room!” Mikey pleads desperately at the redhead.

“And my lab,” Donnie adds hurriedly. April types out their requests quickly and gets a laughing emoji back. Sighing, April sets the phone down and positions herself so she’s more comfortable.

“Does anyone know where we’re going?” 

“Detroit, Michigan.” Raph says immediately.

“That’s specific,” Casey glances back at him after a beat of silence. Raph flicks the back of his head.

“Why would we leave a crime infested city just to go into another one? On our vacation?” Leo asks from the driver’s seat, passing the _Leaving New York City, come back soon!_ sign. Raph glares at the back of Leo’s seat when he can’t figure out a comeback.

“Oregon,” Mikey says. Raph changes the angle of his glare to the youngest. 

“What’s so special about fucking _Oregon_?”

“Cannon beach,” Mikey retorts, dragging his T-Phone out and flipping it to show them after typing at Google for a moment. Donnie takes a look at the pictures and gapes. The ocean stretches out endlessly, with massive pieces of rock that were way too small to be mountains but way too large to be boulders dotting the beach. The beach itself looked to be nearly abandoned, pristine and perfect for them. Donnie knew instantly that’s where he wanted to go.

“Let’s go there first,” Donnie says when he gets his voice back. Casey and April make similar noises of agreement, while Raph shrugs and says something like _cool_. Wow, that was easy. Show them a beach and they all wanted to go. “How far away is it?”

Mikey clicks his teeth together and sighs. “42 hours, 45 minutes. And that’s just to _get_ to the state. We’d be in the car for…” he starts counting on his fingers. 

“Two days, technically.” Donnie responds, instantly calculating the amount of time in his head.

“Well, I mean, we don’t _have_ to go there first. Let’s come up with a list of options,” Leo says, keeping his eyes on the road but glancing up at them in the rear view mirror. “We’ve all decided on exploring just...everything, right? We have two weeks, we don’t have to rush, and we have plenty of money.”

“We can go down to Florida,” Casey proposes. “I’ve always wanted to wrestle a gator.”

“They’d fucking devour you,” Raph taps the back of his friend’s head. “Been there, done that,” he says, and Donnie knows he’s thinking of Leatherhead. 

“Okay, so I found this website where these people did this big cross country road trip,” April sits up, scooting closer so Raph, Casey, and Donnie could see what she was looking at. It was an article explaining 27 different things to do around the country. It even had a little map outlining the different places to visit. “We could do _anything_ ,” she says giddily, because they have so many options and no one could stop them. 

“We could go hiking in Washington,” Donnie takes a look at the pictures underneath and blanches. So much _green_ it would put Dregg’s planet to shame. “Or.. there’s this place called Yellowstone Park, there’s the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon in Arizona, San Francisco in California...look, Mikey, Cannon Beach is on here too!”

“West coast! That’s our road trip, we can just. Explore the West Coast. None of us have ever seen anything over there!” Mikey glances at Leo, who’s considering. “We can start in Washington and go down - 

“And then cut through Arizona, New Mexico… we could basically do an entire circle,” April points out, tracing her index finger around the little map of the U.S. 

“Fuck it, let’s do it,” Leo pulls over to the side of the road, grabbing for his new T-Phone (his old one was still in pieces back at the lair and Donnie always a backup made just in case one of them broke - they were all at least on their fortieth or fiftieth by now). The road they were driving on was still pretty much abandoned, but they could see the sunrise in the distance, just threatening to break over the city line. “Where are we going first again?”

“Washington State,” Mikey grins, glancing over the shoulder of his seat to smirk at the rest of his friends and family. “How do you guys feel about hiking?” 

“Oh, _yeah_ , Casey Jones’s got this - _mmf -_

“Casey, I swear to _god_ ,” Donnie warns, muffling Casey’s indignant noises with his large hand. “I will jump out of this fucking car if you refer to yourself in third person one more timeeeeeEEEE GROSS!” he yells, removing his hand just as fast as he feels Casey’s thick, large, _disgusting_ tongue lick a big stripe down the middle. “Did you just fucking _lick me_ , that is _not_ funny why are you laughing -

April, Raph, Casey and Mikey start fucking _cackling_ as Donnie grumbles and stares resolutely out the window, tuning them all out in favor of staring at a bunch of stupidly tall trees so he didn’t have to look at his equally stupid family -

That’s until Casey wraps an arm around him, still laughing breathlessly. “How’s my tongue feeling on your hand?” he asks with a smirk. Donnie glares at him, refusing to cave in.

“Fucking gross.”

Casey’s smirk only gets bigger, and he leans in closer. “That’s not what you say when it’s in your mouth -

“EWW! Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ewwwww ewwwwwwww ewwww what the _fuckkkkk_ ewwwwwwwwww oh my god get a room get a room get a ROOOOOM,” Mikey interrupts, throwing the closest thing to his hand (a toilet paper roll) at Casey’s head. It bounces off and joins all of the stuff they couldn’t fit in the back with Raph on the floor. Donnie and Casey, sighing, turn away from eachother to glare at the youngest.

“You’re _so_ hypocritical it fucking burns,” Casey deadpans. 

“Am _not_ ,” Mikey deadpans right back. “Least I wasn’t talkin’ about how I feel Don up with my tongue, Case -

“Can we _not_ talk about this, I’m going to hurl,” Raph chimes in with his two cents.

“Shut up, Raph,” Casey, Mikey, and Donnie say immediately. April laughs, blissfully uninvolved in the conversation. She laid her head on Casey’s shoulder and closed her eyes, yawning. It makes something inside of Donnie curl in pleasure as he completely forgets being mad at them, at _both_ of them. Seeing them like that…

It’s contagious, the yawning, and with an unspoken agreement between them they decide to get some sleep. They’re all clearly exhausted, the brothers from their late night talk, and April and Casey just from the excitement of getting out of the city for the first time in years. 

“Okay, I think we’re ready to go,” Leo finally says, and they all startle, almost forgetting that he was there with how quiet he’s been, literally ignoring their bantering from years of practice. “It takes forty one hours to get from here to Washington State, so get comfy, guys. Even with Donnie’s upgrades it’s still gonna take a long time.”

“Oh yeah, nap time,” Casey tugs Donnie closer with his free hand, so close that their thighs are touching, and takes his mask and headband off completely so his hair is even messier than usual. Donnie sighs resolutely, leaning out of the way so Casey can lay his head down on his shoulder. He pretends it doesn’t make his insides freeze up as he gingerly lays his own head on top of Casey’s, eye twitching as it regards all the fucking _hair_ his boyfriend has. 

April, without opening her eyes, reaches out to grip one of Donnie’s hands, and he lets her take it, smiling softly. “Wake me up in a couple hours, Leo. I’ll...switch with you,” Donnie yawns, finally closing his eyes.

Raph grumbles, glaring down at them fondly, then leans back to grab Chompy and pull a blanket around himself. He shifts towards the side of the car, against the window, and raises Chompy to the little ledge so the little space turtle can stare out with him. As Leo starts the car up again, Raph begins to drop off quickly to the rumbling noises it made as it traveled over the concrete. After the night that they had, it was so peaceful.

Mikey fiddles with his phone, opening Spotify (Donnie honestly could just...crack any app at all, with little to no effort. Just a couple buttons, and he was in). He notices Leo glance at him nervously in the corner of his eye and decides he doesn’t want to torture Leo just yet, as fun as it would be. They had _two_ whole weeks, and Mikey really was tired. 

He made Spotify playlists for everything. It was kind of pathetic now that he reflected on it, but it was how he coped with a lot of the things that happened in their life, and no one ever really questioned him on it besides asking him to make playlists for them, too. Tapping idly, he finds the playlist he wants - the one labelled _for sleep_ , and plugs it into the radio. Turning the volume up, he reclines a bit in his seat as Bob Dylan’s slow, melodious voice starts playing.

_If today was not an endless highway_

_If tonight was not a crooked trail_

_If tomorrow wasn't such a long time,_

_Then lonesome would mean nothing to you at all_

Leo smiles. “Dad used to play this for us,” he says, and when Mikey looks at him he can see the nostalgia in his face. “When we were kids, I mean.”

“I remember, s’why I picked it,” Mikey tilts his face to the side so he can stare at the side-view window. The city was fading rapidly behind them, becoming a blob on the horizon as they drove further and further away. Mikey feels comfort, maybe for the first time in forever, knowing that they were _safe_ and _together_ and nothing was going to happen to them, they’d get to finally relax.

“Get some sleep, Mike,” Leo says softly, and Mikey closes his eyes, feeling the first beams of the warm Sun on his skin.

_Yes, and only if my own true love was waitin'_

_Yes, and if I could hear her heart a-softly poundin'_

_Only if she was lyin' by me_

_Then I'd lie in my bed once again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this has to be my favorite chapter ive written so far im just. crying rn i just love this song and them so much and its 11:00 i need to sleep but im just. devastated please i just want them to be happy


	16. SUSAN

mikeylangelo: lol raph

mikeylangelo: asshole are you up

chompy’s bitch: why are we texting just yell back at me dipshit

mikeylangelo: IF I YELL LEO MIGHT HAVE A HEART ATTACK ITS SO QUIET 

mikeylangelo: AND donnie casey and april are still sleeping i don’t wanna wake them

mikeylangelo: i can be considerate <3

chompy’s bitch: yeah okay sure

chompy’s bitch: you took pictures of them right?

chompy’s bitch: for blackmail

mikeylangelo: yes?? who do you take me for

chompy’s bitch: a considerate person?

mikeylangelo: oh fuck OFF

_mikeylangelo sent three pictures to the chat!_

_chompy’s bitch saved a photo!_

_chompy’s bitch saved a photo!_

_chompy’s bitch saved a photo!_

chompy’s bitch: why do they look so dumb when they sleep

mikeylangelo: RAPH STOPSPIAODAZDA

mikeylangelo: n e ways i think we should let leo and don switch now it’s been like ten years

chompy’s bitch: is he okay

mikeylangelo: he looks dead at the wheel

mikeylangelo: google maps is like.

mikeylangelo: the only thing keeping him going

chompy’s bitch: ok then whos gonna wake don up

mikeylangelo: NOT IT NOT IT NOT ITT

mikeylangelo: lolzies

chompy’s bitch: i hate you

mikeylangelo: go get em tiger <3

Mikey glances back over the seat at his older brother and is completely undeterred by the middle finger Raph held up. Sticking his tongue out, throwing his _own_ middle finger up in retaliation, Mikey and Raph had a staring contest that lasted for maybe half a minute. Mikey was content to wait, knowing he always won these. Leo rolls his eyes at them like he usually does whenever they pull this shit and Mikey grins.

Sighing eventually in annoyance, Raph flicks Donnie on the back of his head, and after three to four times of doing it Don finally rouses, yawning and slapping Raph’s hand away. “Where are we?” he mutters groggily. April mutters in her sleep and shifts, curling deeper into Casey, who balls his fist around Donnie’s wrist subconsciously. Donnie looks at them fondly and Mikey feels a bit of affection for his human friends. No one could get that look out of Donnie but them.

“We’re just leaving Ohio,” Leo responds lethargically as he takes the nearest exit, getting off the freeway. He yawns too, courtesy of yawns being world-widely contagious.

“That’s… what, eight hours?” Donnie calculates, rubbing his eyes tiredly and pulling his mask up again so it hid the circles under them. Mikey sympathized, he was still so far behind on sleep. “You should have woken me up sooner, Leo.”

“You needed the rest,” Leo shrugs, turning onto a nearly abandoned road so they can stretch out and switch. It’s not like any of them could argue with that statement. Donnie got the least amount of sleep out of the six of them, it drove everyone crazy. “You feeling better?”

“Mm, yeah,” Donnie utters distractedly as they finally pull over. “How about you guys? Mike, Raph?”

“Better than earlier,” Mikey mumbles, and Raph grunts in agreement. “How far away from Washington, Leo?”

“35 hours,” Leo checks the phone again to make sure, chuckling a bit when Mikey and Raph groan in response. “We’ll get it down to thirty-two by the end of today. That’s ten hours in the car.”

“I have a feeling I’m going to hate this car by the end of the trip,” Raph declares, summing up Mikey’s thoughts exactly. “At least there’s nothing to do but sleep, which we all desperately need. Some more than others.” Raph flicks the back of Donnie’s head yet _again_ , causing his brother to slap it away. Harder this time.

“Wake April and Casey up, we’re going to have lunch,” Leo states as the car comes to a stop. Then, “...I think we’re low on gas.”

“Ape n Case can do it, like they did at the farm,” Mikey says as he opens the car doors, finally letting his feet touch the surface after spending nearly all day in the car. He hadn’t really looked out the window as they drove in, more concerned about his family, but the abundance of trees and wildlife around him, on both sides of the two laned road, made him stop and _stare_. “That’s… there’s so much green,” he splutters, tilting his head back to take it all in.

“Yeah, Ohio’s pretty nice,” Donnie states as he opens the car doors, leaning on the seat as he lets his legs hang loosely out the door. April and Casey are stirring behind him, asking Leo the same questions that his brothers had badgered him about only a minute earlier. “Y’know, the people here are pretty crazy about football. Like, obsessed. And they like chili. The processed, fake kind, but - 

Mikey wonders if Donnie’s going to do this every state they stopped in. “How do you know so much about the Ohio people, Dee?”

Donnie shrugs, looking only mildly annoyed with being interrupted. “I read, pick things up. Besides, this isn’t anything compared to the interesting things I’ve learned about the history of Ohio’s politicians…”

Mikey decides he really doesn’t want to learn about Ohio’s politicians, or just politics in general. He’s had a real problem with ‘authority’ (e.g Shredder, the Kraang, etc) in the past, he wasn’t expecting that to change anytime soon. “Come on then, Dee, if you’re going to be driving for the next five hours you’ll need your food.” Mikey reaches forward and pulls Donnie fully out of the car. Donnie lets him, taking a second to get his bearings and look for the rest of their family.

Leo and Raph are near the trunk of the car, pulling various coolers towards them as they unload water canisters, various snacks that April and Casey had bought prior from the gas station back in New York, and the sub sandwiches that Mikey had made the night before, when he couldn’t sleep and had wanted to burn off the nervous energy that had been building up. April and Casey join them, helping unload with tired smiles and muttered conversation.

They have lunch in the small clearing off the road, isolated from any prying eyes (human or otherwise). Raph lets Chompy roam around their circle (six people couldn’t really make a circle but they tried their best, flailing limbs spread everywhere haphazardly), while Mikey fed ICK little ice cubes and hissed at Raph when Chompy stepped too close.

“Chompy is _so_ cancelled,” Mikey drags ICK’s cooler farther away so Chompy couldn’t breathe fire on her again. The others laugh at Raph’s outraged expression.

“You can’t cancel my pet Mikey. This isn’t Twitter,” Raph observes. 

Mikey nods, grinning. “It’s Ohio! I’m so glad you figured that out, bro.” 

“I’ll send you _back_ to New York if you’re not careful,” Raph threatens, but his stance is lulled and relaxed and he doesn’t have his weapon on him (they’d left those in the car), so Mikey grins and doesn’t think much of it. He’s hungry, anyway.

“This is...weird,” Leo says, quietly, after awhile of just sitting in eachother’s company and eating. “It’s...we’re out here, during the _day_ , not running around, not fighting anything. I can’t remember the last time I’ve felt this relaxed.”

“I keep expecting something to happen,” April confesses, looking over her shoulders as she says it, but seeing nothing besides more trees. “Kinda expecting something crazy to happen with our luck.”

“Nothing crazy _better_ happen,” Raph declares after he’s swallowed a mouthful of sandwich. “Well, besides me pushing Mikey off a mountain in Washington, I’m looking forward to that.”

“Not if I push you off first -

“Asshole, like you’d even get close enough -

“Oh my god, here you two go again,” Donnie groans, rubbing his temples as they started squabbling. “I swear to fucking _god_ , you guys argue more than Casey and I -

“No, not possible, Dee,” Casey shakes his head, sliding his arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders and grinning at the disgruntled expression on Donnie’s face. “Don’t make that face, you know you love me -

“I despise you.”

“We’ll get to the edge of Indiana tonight,” Leo thinks aloud, face scrunched up in concentration. “We’d have thirty two hours left, and if we do another ten tomorrow -

“Leo, _Leo_ , it’s okay, we don’t need a plan for that. Let’s just. Ugh, I don’t know. Unless someone wants to drive during the night…” April breaks off, hesitantly. Probably wondering how safe it was with them driving at nighttime in a place they didn’t know. Knowing them...not very safe.

“I mean, I could totally - 

“ _No_ , Casey.”

“Come _on_ , Don, I drove when we were up at the farm -

“ _No_ , I know you can drive. I’m just saying none of us should drive at night, it's not safe and someone would probably crash and die. Which is why I made it able to drive itself,” Donnie reveals proudly, albeit a little smugly. 

“And you _just_ told us that now?” Mikey asks, shocked. “Bruh, not cool. Leo looks like he’s gonna pass out.”

“Mikey, I’m _fine_. It was relaxing, actually. Especially when you were all asleep and I could play my Space Heroes soundtrack without Raph breathing down my neck.”

Raph snickers openly. “You waited until I was asleep to put on your dumb playlist -

“It is _not_ dumb, Captain Ryan is my hero -

“Anyway,” Donnie interrupts loudly. “Yes, I made it able to drive itself, that was one of the upgrades Leo was talking about earlier.”

“So why did Leo drive for eight hours - 

“Because I got the most sleep last night? _Maybe because Don isn’t completely finished with said updates_?” Leo glances at Donnie, who flushes, taking another bite of his sandwich.

“ _Ifw wafs almfosf reafdy -_

“Chew, Donnie.”

Donnie glares, swallowing exaggeratedly, and talks. “It’s almost ready. I just need like, one more part - and I can easily get that at a Home Depot. But the trip was so out of the blue that I didn’t have any time to prepare last night, much less go out on a scavenger hunt topside to track it down.”

Mikey softens, remembering how hard it had been last night for all of them. “If we get you the part, the car will drive at night? Like...all by itself?”

“And it’s _safe_?” Raph adds. “It won’t drag us into oncoming traffic?”

“It’s safe. I think. I’ve only tested it limitly, but all the tests have _shown_ to be safe, especially with the working A.I. installed last month. I’ll need a couple tools, too, but I packed an emergency toolkit just in case,” Donnie says. “It’s an option! If someone doesn’t want to drive at night, I mean.”

“I’ll think about it,” Leo promises. “It would be nice to relax and still _get_ places. If it drove all night, we could probably get to Iowa, maybe South Dakota by tomorrow morning.”

“It also has boosters, and they’re fully functional,” Donnie adds. “I don’t know if we should use them though, considering the other civilians on the road - 

“ _Fuck the civilians_!” Casey shouts, though it was a bit muffled by the sandwich still in his mouth. “Fuck em’, let’s just get to Washington.”

“Casey!” April shouts back, slapping her boyfriend’s arm (Casey winces, holding said arm - the girl could _punch_ ). “I thought we _weren’t_ gonna be criminals for two weeks. That _includes_ breaking the speed limit, don’t you think?”

“Have you met us? And _lived_ with us? And been in all the same wars we’ve been in? With all the illegal things we’ve done in the last couple of years I think we’d be locked up for life. Fuck the speed limit,” Raph grins. “I agree with Casey - 

“Of course _you_ do,” Leo rolls his eyes. “Fine. We’ll use your boosters, Don.”

Donnie sighs. “I wanted a _quiet_ vacation, guys. Now we’re gonna have the police after us.”

“Fuck the police, too.” Raph snarls.

“Valid.”

-

Two hours later, when they’re fully loaded up with gas thanks to April and Casey’s brought back Donnie’s requested parts to fix the car up from Home Depot and Donnie’s fixed up the car with minimal interruptions from Mikey ( _“Is it ready yet, Dee -” “No, stop asking.”)_ they’re back on the road. The rest of them stare as Donnie starts up the car, sitting in the driver’s seat, and says, very patiently, “Hello, Susan.”

“ _Susan_?” Leo guffaws in a low voice from shotgun as the others snicker. 

“Hello, Donatello. Hello, Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Casey Jones, April O’Neil -

“She works!” Donnie yelps, a wide grin stretching across his face as he slams his large hands down on the steering wheel, gripping it excitedly. “Okay, Susan, take us to Washington State.”

Donnie and Susan clip back and forth a few more times before the car starts moving back in the direction of the freeway. Then they’re _on_ the freeway, blending perfectly into the mesh of other cars. “Susan, you are so _sexy_ ,” Mikey chimes in from the back of the car, avoiding Raph’s smack expertly.

“Thank you, Michelangelo,” Susan beeps back. “Although, I am an artificial intelligence. I do not understand how I am sexually attractive -

“Ignore him,” Donnie advises with a sigh. “Just drive.”

“Okay, so we’re stuck in the car for another twenty million years. Fantastic. Who wants to play Uno?” April asks, reaching in her backpack for the cards before anyone could answer.

“Last time we played Uno Chompy lit the cards on fire - 

“Come on, Raph. Unless you’re too scared April’s gonna beat your ass again,” Mikey teases. Leo laughs and Raph glares at both of them. He couldn’t back down now, they’d caught him.

“Fine. But only if Donnie plays, too.” If Raph was going to play, he’d make sure _all_ of them were playing. So he could beat them all, of course. Not because he wanted to spend time with them. That’d be stupid. 

“I have to watch the road,” Donnie says, watching the freeway and pointedly not joining the conversation.

“Aw come on, Don,” Casey complains, kicking Donnie’s seat. “Susan’s got it, she’s the one _driving_. You’re just being a mother hen. Spend time with your family, you egg headed weirdo.” 

“I do, indeed, ‘got it’,” Susan adds. Donnie groans, rolling his eyes so hard he probably saw the back of his head. 

“Fine. Deal me,” Donnie resigns, turning in his seat so he could glare at them. Casey whoops and takes the cards from April, dealing them out. This was going to be a _long_ ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyyyy im working on the next chapter rn so expect two updates today! sorry this one is more of a filler :D


	17. 3am chats on the road

mikeylangelo: ok i forgot about the name hold on

_mikeylangelo changed the groupchat name to orgy_

mikeylangelo: perfect

lol threesome: i have no words for th

lol threesome: mikey. it’s like 3 in the morning why aren’t you sleeping

mikeylangelo: raph’s stinky ass woke me up

mikeylangelo: who decided i’d be stuck in the back with all the shit we brought

mikeylangelo: with RAPH

shaggy: you did

shaggy: you were like. and i quote

shaggy: “lol me and raph r gonna have a whole ass party back here”

mikeylangelo: i have never said that sentence in my entire life

lol threesome: right because that’s not even a sentence

lol threesome: the amount of errors are astronomical

mikeylangelo: its 3 in the morning donnie please

mikeylangelo: shut the fuck up <3

lol threesome: no <3

shaggy: please <3

shaggy: put me out of my misery <3

lol threesome: AT LEAST YOU GET THE MIDDLE AREA TO SLEEP WITH APRIL?@$#!# STOP COMPLAINING

lol threesome: my neck has never ached this much ever

shaggy: you could literally come back here 

shaggy: susan is a beast laugh out loud

mikeylangelo: NOT LUAGH OUT OLOODU

lol threesome: no because i can’t... if i do then leo will wake up

leo listens to despacito: i AM awake

leo listens to despacito: get back there donnie….. casey’s waiting for you

shaggy: ;)

mikeylangelo: don’t have sex lolzies

mikeylangelo: sex is canceled we have all moved on from the need to have sex 

shaggy: someone’s jealous

mikeylangelo: u. 

mikeylangelo: when it is daytime and we r on ground that is not moving im gonna eat u alive

shaggy: deadass.. dont think so midget

mikeylangelo: IM ALMOST AS TALL AS YOU GOD SHUT UP

shaggy: DONNIE STEPPED ON APRILS HAIR I CANT BREATHERSFDSD

leo listens to despacito: is she alive

shaggy: she just yelled and promised don bloody murder you tell me justin beiber fan

mikeylangelo: OH LOOK SHES ONLINE HEY APRIL

ginger from hell: donnie please i love you. i really do i promise

ginger from hell: but i lost like half my hair under your big ass foot

mikeylangelo: I CANTOIESJRS

leo listens to despacito: PLEASE

shaggy: ...thats an exaggeration

ginger from hell: is not??? how the hell do you even know what that word even means anyway

shaggy: i liked you better when you were sleeping

ginger from hell: me too

lol threesome: APRIL IM SO SORRY

mikeylangelo: ask her for sex that always works

lol threesome: mikey you have point three seconds to shut up before i come back there and kill you

mikeylangelo: :)

ginger from hell: aw its okay donnie i forgive you only because you apologized <3

lol threesome: a win

shaggy: shut u[p

ginger from hell: why are we all texting again

shaggy: raph

mikeylangelo: raph

leo listens to despacito: well raph is supposed to be sleeping but i doubt it now your screech probably woke him up

ginger from hell: rolls eyes my screech is not that bad 

leo listens to despacito: debatable

chompy’s bitch: you guys fucking suck 

chompy’s bitch: mikey sucks the most 

chompy’s bitch: GET AWAY FROM ME DO YOU NOT KNOW WHAT PERSONAL SPACE IS

mikeylangelo: WE’RE STUCK BACK HERE TOGETHER ASSHOLE I DONT HAVE ANY ROOM

chompy’s bitch: MAKE ROOM

chompy’s bitch: i vote we throw the fucking tent out the window

shaggy: NO DONT THROW MY TENT OUT THE WINDOW?@#

chompy’s bitch: WHY DID WE BRING A AFUCKIGN TENT????

shaggy: . it seemed like a good idea at the time

mikeylangelo: listen raph you stay over there i stay... over here :(

chompy’s bitch: YOU LITERALLY LEECH YOUR WAY BACK OVER HERE EVERY FUCKING TIME I BLINK

mikeylangelo: IM LONELY D:

mikeylangelo: can we cuddle

chompy’s bitch: not in a million years

shaggy: wishin i was susan rn

ginger from hell: <susan3

lol threesome: can you guys stop thirsting over the fucking car

mikeylangelo: no they have a point...susan is sexy

lol threesome: STOP SAYING THAT

leo listens to despacito: we are in. south dakota right now

leo listens to despacito: like. the middle of south dakota. 

leo listens to despacito: NINETEEN MORE HOURS

mikeylangelo: COME THE FUCK ONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

mikeylangelo: DONNIE CAN WE GO FASTER

ginger from hell: wasn’t there something about like. boosters?? 

shaggy: THERE WAS. AND LEO SAID WE COULD USE THEM

leo listens to despacito: yes i did. we are going to be using them now.

leo listens to despacito: donnie if you could do the honors…

-

“Susan,” Donnie’s strained, exhausted voice caused the rest of them to look up from their phones to listen. “Initialize car boosters.” 

“Initializing car boosters,” Susan replies, and suddenly the car jolts forward, picking up speed drastically. 

“Oh, my god. It’s like...a private jet!” Mikey says distractedly, staring out the window at the scenery that was now whipping by. “This is so awesome! Thanks, Susan.”

“My condolences, Michelangelo.”

“That’s not...okay, whatever.”

“Mount Rushmore is in this state,” Donnie says gloomily. “Y’know? The statues with the presidents on them -

“Boring,” Raph interjects, glaring out of his own window, stroking Chompy’s back as the space turtle sleeps. “Presidents are so lame.”

Donnie rolls his eyes, but refuses to answer and start another argument. “By this time tomorrow we’ll be in Washington,” he says instead. “Maybe we can use that tent for good?”

“We can go camping!” Casey says, clapping his hands together in a slap that resounds around the car. “We haven’t done anything like that since North Hampton.” 

“Bears,” Mikey declares longingly. It's silent for maybe three seconds before Mikey continues. “Like. You guys know that one movie where the bear lives in the town and then he becomes friends with the deer -

“...Open Season?”

“Yes! Exactly, Leo. Open Season.” 

“What does an animated movie from 2006 about a domesticated bear who teams up with other woodland animals to defeat human hunters have to do with us camping in Washington, Mikey?” Donnie sighs, tired of this conversation already. 

Mikey shrugs, not that anyone could really see in the darkness of the car. “Think I could take on a bear?”

“... _No_.” the car occupants all tell him immediately, sans Susan. Sighing, Mikey ignores their answers and decides to consult the only being in the car that hadn't answered his qualm. 

“Susan, do you think I could take on a bear?” Mikey pleads, and the scuffling throughout the car falls silent as they wait for an answer.

“Michelangelo, I am a robot, not a therapist.” 

April laughs so loudly she nearly falls off the seat. The others quickly descend into hysteria, leaving Mikey to stare, openmouthed. “A _therapist_ ,” Leo cackles, dissolving into another wheeze. 

“Okay, y’know what, I thought I was messed up. That was just _cruel_ , Susan.” Mikey huffs as Raph sniggers even louder and Donnie snorts. “We’re breaking up! It’s over. Susan is a dumb name, anyway. I could have named you something ten times cooler, but I guess you’ll never know now.”

“My model number is TS9-11-13Y5,” Susan says helpfully. “Would you prefer it if I was recognized by this name, instead of Susan?” 

“No, that’s even lamer,” Mikey refutes. “Hm...well, I could always mix your name with Pepperoni...ooh, _Susaroni_ -

“We’re going back to texting, now,” April interrupts quickly before Susan could respond. “Let’s let Susan drive, okay Mike?”

Mikey sighs sadly. “Okay...bye, Susan.”

“Goodbye, Michelangelo.” 

-

_ginger from hell - lol threesome_

ginger from hell: so you’re taking susan apart as soon as we get home right

lol threesome: i can’t take much more of this

lol threesome: i really shouldn’t have made the stupid fucking car able to talk

-

_orgy_

mikeylangelo: so i’m seriously considering. 

mikeylangleo: what if susan is evil

mikeylangelo: that was MEAN. she’s supposed to be a robot :(

mikeylangelo: not a bully

shaggy: she’s so sexy did you see the way she shut you down

shaggy: april...donnie...i’m sorry. im leaving you guys for susan

mikeylangelo: CXASASEEY?@$#$

leo listens to despacito: PLEASREJKSL

chompy’s bitch: I HATE IT HERERIEJSR 

-

_lol threesome - ginger from hell_

lol threesome: fuck susan

ginger from hell: fuck susan.

-

_orgy_

mikeylangelo: cause every inch of u is perfect from the bottom

mikeylangelo: *points at casey*

mikeylangelo: to the top

mikeylangelo: *points at april*

lol threesome: WQHAT THE FUCK

leo listens to despacito: MICHELANGLEOSF

chompy’s bitch: MY SIDES HURT THIS IS SO FUCKING FUNYNSL

ginger from hell: PLWAISAE

shaggy: im not always the bottom :(

chompy’s bitch: CASESJY SHUT THE FUCKUP

lol threesome: CASEIYYYY

leo listens to despacito: what would donnie be then?

mikeylangelo: the meat

leo listens to despacito: THE MEAT

ginger from hell: THEMEATK4E 

lol threesome: WHAOIT MIKEY WHAT TH EFUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT

mikeylangelo: u know… april and casey are the bread and donnie’s the meat??

mikeylangelo: i was talking about capritello as a sandwich why are u guys freaking out :/

lol threesome: .

chompy’s bitch: A SANDWICHTSDLK#$?$

shaggy: I CANt TFUCJKING SEE BSF

mikeylangelo: ARE YOU GUYS HIGH WHAT THE FUCK

mikeylangelo: am i really that funny..i mean i know i am but why are u guys spazzing out

leo listens to despacito: WE TOHOUTHG YOU WERE TALKKING ABOUT SEX POSITIONDSS

mikeylangelo: PKLWAREJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ 

mikeylangelo: WEEIWLJA ADA;FDAGSGSGSGSGSEO DASAISHUGI WHAT THEYUCJLCJIAW”$?#%^$^#^:j#k@l%^w^&y%teeygy:trl DFJ

mikeylangelo: IEWEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

mikeylangelo: ive decided i never want to speak to any of you ever again thats fcuckign disgusting

shaggy: WE’REJ DISGUSTIDGND?@$

shaggy: I WAS WORRIEFDSE FOR LIKE THREEE MINUTES YOU KNEW WAHT MTY SEX LIFE WAS LIKE

shaggy: that was almost scarily accurate

lol threesome: CASSDREY SHUT THE FUVCK UP IM GONNA DEMOLISH YOU

chompy’s bitch: CASEYS THE FUCKING BOTTOM IM NEVER LIVING THIS DOWNKDSA

leo listens to despacito: im so tired. Imagine howe tired iam

ginger from hell: im going to pretend this conversation never happened

chompy’s bitch: CASEYS A FUCKING BOTTOM

shaggy: SHUT THE FUCK UP SO ARE YOU

shaggy: YOU TOTALLY BOTTOM FOR MONA LISTJSLA

chompy’s bitch: YOU TAKE THAT BACK

_mikeylangelo removed chompy’s bitch_

_mikeylangelo removed shaggy_

mikeylangelo: peace and quiet

ginger from hell: PLESRSLE

leo listens to despacito: OH GOD THE ADMIN POWERS

lol threesome: does that mean we’re subservient to fucking MIKEY

mikeylangelo: yes.

mikeylangelo: i’m ur leader now

mikeylangelo: lolzies

_ginger from hell left the chat_

_lol threesome left the chat_

_leo listens to despacito left the chat_

mikeylangelo: whatt ehje fuck

mikeylangelo: :(


	18. communists

_leo listens to despacito added mikeylangelo, ginger from hell, chompy’s bitch, lol threesome, and shaggy to the chat!_

leo listens to despacito: okay so it’s been a few hours. and we’ve all hopefully calmed down from earlier

chompy’s bitch: from figuring out casey was a bottom?

chompy’s bitch: i think im finally getting my head wrapped around it yeah

shaggy: hey fuck you mr i met a big ass salamander lady who beat us up and almost killed us and then we made out after knowing eachother for the total of three whole ass hours raph hamato

shaggy: at least me don and april are together after years of angst! we’re still going strong

lol threesome: you literally threatened to leave april and i for a fucking self driving car earlier this morning.

shaggy: my point still stands

chompy’s bitch: me and mona have true love..

shaggy: TRUE LOVE MY HAIRY ASSHOLE

chompy’s bitch: WHAT 

chompy’s bitch: YOU COULD HAVE USED ANY OTHER EXPRESSION. BUT YOU HAD TO USE HAIRY ASSHOLE

chompy’s bitch: i just gagged leo donnie stop the car make susan stop i cant

lol threesome: casey. Shut the fuck up. Do you want me to puke.

shaggy: IM SORRY THE WORDS . THEY SLIPPED OUT

shaggy: erase all mental images of my hairy asshole from your mind.

leo listens to despacito: they aren’t leaving. how do i make the images leave donnie

lol threesome: i dont know leo im sorry im so sorry take deep breaths

mikeylangelo: oh, when you walk by every night

mikeylangelo: talking sweet and looking fine..

leo listens to despacito: good morning to you too mikey

mikeylangelo: i get kind of hectic INSIDEEEEE

mikeylangelo: mmmmmmmm baby im so into you

mikeylangelo: darling if you only knew

shaggy: mikey... im flattered but im in a relationship

mikeylangelo: all the things that flow through my mind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lol threesome: he’s probably trying to tell us something quick guys 

lol threesome: decoding time

shaggy: im decoding that mikey is high as fuck,

shaggy: and it’s only 7am

shaggy: idk where we got weed

shaggy: but he’s definitely smoking it

chompy’s bitch: at least i got casey’s asshole out of my headoh nevermind its back

shaggy: you can never escape the mental images of pauline 

chompy’s bitch: YOU NAMED YOUR ASSHOLELJFS 

chompy’s bitch: never mind i dont want to know

mikeylangelo: BUT ITS JUST A SWEET SWEET FANTASY BABYYY

mikeylangelo: when i close my eyes you come and take meee

mikeylangelo: on and on and onn its so deep in my daydreams

mikeylangelo: BUT ITS JUST A SWEET SWEET FANTASY BABYYY (BABYYY)

mikeylangelo: and i want u so baddddd

leo listens to despacito: i think. its song lyrics

ginger from hell: MARIAH CAREY YES MIKEY

ginger from hell: a man with taste finally.

mikeylangelo: APRIL …A GODDESS!! FINALLY SOMEONE WHO APPRECIATES GOOD MUSIC..

leo listens to despacito: that’s… good music?

leo listens to despacito: sounds like stuff from a romance novel

mikeylangelo: better than justin beiber

mikeylangelo: lolzies

mikeylangelo: no leodon’tkick me no

_leo listens to despacito kicked mikeylangelo from the chat!_

leo listens to despacito: there will not be another word about my justin beiber phase the rest of this car ride. if you want to get out unscathed, that is.

shaggy: so. after we get out of the car i get to ask if you know all the words to despacit

_leo listens to despacito kicked shaggy from the chat!_

lol threesome: LEO YOU

lol threesome: YOU’RE A COMMUNIST

leo listens to despacito: SILENCE PEASANT

_leo listens to despacito kicked lol threesome from the chat!_

chompy’s bitch: . 

leo listens to despacito: am i hearing protests from the peanut gallery…?

chompy’s bitch: I LITERALLY JUST PUT A PERIOD. WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS HOSTILITY. 

leo listens to despacito: my fingers are hovering over the kick button raphael

chompy’s bitch: COMMUNIST. DONNIE WAS RIGHT.

chompy’s bitch: COMMUNIST COMMUNIST ILL GO DOWN FIGHTING COMMUNIST COMMUNIST COMUNIST COM

_leo listens to despacito kicked chompy’s bitch from the chat!_

leo listens to despacito: so. It’s you and me april

ginger from hell: hi

leo listens to despacito: hi

ginger from hell: are you actually a communist

leo listens to despacito: ARE YOU QUESTIONING MY POWER

ginger from hell: NONMAONONO I WAS JUSTASKING

_leo listens to despacito kicked ginger from hell from the chat!_

leo listens to despacito: :D

leo listens to despacito: :,D

leo listens to despacito: BABHAHJSD why does it look like that 

leo listens to despacito: oh no im already talking to myself first signs of insanity

leo listens to despacito: i hate it here

_leo listens to despacito changed leo listens to despacito’s name to fearless leader communist edition question mark_

fearless leader communist edition question mark: WHY DID I TYPE QUESTION MARK OUT

fearless leader communist edition question mark: . 

fearless leader communist edition question mark: lolzies

fearless leader communist edition question mark: STOP ONLY MIKEY SAYS THAT. focus leonardo

_fearless leader communist edition question mark changed fearless leader communist edition question mark’s name to fearless leader communist edition?!_

-

_ginger from hell added mikeylangelo, shaggy, lol threesome, and chompy’s bitch to the chat!_

ginger from hell: okay so leo is losing his mind

mikeylangelo: I VOTE WE ALL CHALLENGE HIM TO A CUP PONG GAME

shaggy: we have CUP PONG ON OUR TPHONES?$@

lol threesome: obviously??? 

ginger from hell: im a beast at cup pong fuck yeah

_ginger from hell added fearless leader communist edition? to the chat!_

mikeylangelo: we were gone for maybe two minutes how did you mess up your name that bad

fearless leader communist edition?: I DON’T KNOW THWE POWER GOT TO ME

chompy’s bitch: okay leo april’s gonna challenge you to cup pong

fearless leader communist edition?: BUT IM BAD AT CUP PONG

ginger from hell: exactly. win win situation

  
  


fearless leader communist edition?: ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

fearless leader communist edition?: fineeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

mikeylangelo: leo are you drunk

fearless leader communist edition: no im a communist

chompy's bitch: at least he accepts it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiii ifeel drink rn i hopeoyuo guys like the surprise chapoter ,) deadass itslike 11pm why a m i so woozy PLEASE
> 
> FUCKKC I KNOCKED OVER MY WATER AND ITS ON MY SHIRT NOOO TIS SO FUCKING COLDIMDYINGHF
> 
> -
> 
> edit: HI GOODMORNING I WAS HIGH AS FUCK LAST NIGHT I REALLY DONT REMEMBER WRITINGTHISHTSJO


	19. washington

shaggy: GUESS WHAT

shaggy: GUESS WHERE WE ARE

mikeylangelo: um

mikeylangelo: this is a trick question isn’t it

shaggy: NO you dumb bitch 

shaggy: WE’RE HERE WE’RE IN WASHINGTON

fearless leader communist edition?: .

fearless leader communist edition: are you joking are we really here... is this a fever dream

shaggy: WE’RE FUCKING HEREEEEEEEE

ginger from hell: stop fuckignYELLING 

chompy’s bitch: . fucking finally

chompy’s bitch: i swear to god its been like fifteen fucking years

lol threesome: ...

lol threesome: we literally left yesterday.

mikeylangelo: ITS BEEN LIKE FOUR CHAPTERS ?#%@

lol threesome: chapters??? What

mikeylangelo: yeah lol if we were in a book or something it would probably take us like. 4 chapters to get to washington

lol threesome: MIKEY WE’RE NOT IN A FUCKING BOOK

mikeylangelo: NOOO WHAT IF WE WERE IN A TV SERIES?#%@ 

mikeylangelo: ooh id direct it. we would start on our 15th mutation day. and then. we’d go to the surface. And then. 

shaggy: me on a television....so fuckin sexy 

mikeylangelo: shut the fuck up u wouldn’t even be in the gang until season 2 casey ur so irrelevant

shaggy: oye take that back you

shaggy: orange spineless weasel

mikeylangelo: that was the lamest fucking comeback ive ever heard

chompy’s bitch: ORANG SPINELESSLEJ WEASEL

chompy’s bitch: bottom language

shaggy: FUCKING DTOP god i hate you

mikeylangelo: anyway we’d fight the kraang for the first time and leo would fall in “love” with karai and there’d be dramatic music and

mikeylangelo: WHEN SPLINTER TELLS LEO THAT KARAIS HIS SISTER

mikeylangelo: the depression comes in

fearless leader communist edition?: WHAT

mikeylangelo: we’d get some sam smith music up in that bitch

lol threesome: you’d be a horrible director

mikeylangelo: oh like you’d do any better

ginger from hell: so like. a documentary on our lives?

mikeylangelo: YES

mikeylangelo: WE’D BE FAMOUS

mikeylangelo: THERE’D BE BITCHES WRITING FANFICTION ABOUT US

shaggy: wait. Waitwait WAIT

shaggy: what if this IS a fanfiction

shaggy: what if our lives are a simulation

shaggy: what if

shaggy: WHAT IF SOME TEENAGED GIRL IS WRITING EVERYTHING I SAY

mikeylangelo: NOIK342O5J NOT THE TEENAGED GIRL

mikeylangelo: what if said teenage girl was going to make susan evil and turn on us.

shaggy: SHE WOULDNT DO THAT THATS SO PREDICTABLE 

lol threesome: two reasons.

lol threesome: thats tacky. and. yeah thats just really tacky

mikeylangelo: THAT WAS ONE REASON

lol threesome: shut the fuckup 

ginger from hell: isnt that a stephen king movie?? car becomes evil? 

ginger from hell: yeah i agree that would be tacky

shaggy: we already fought a fucking car anyway get some new material

mikeylangelo: WE ALL SAW THAT COMING WRITER WE ALL SAW THAT COMING YOU CAN’T HIDE ANYTHIGN FROMUS BITCH

shaggy: MIKEY STOP ANTAGONIZING THE TEENAGE GIRL?#? SHE’S GONNA MAKE LIKE. CRICKETS GO UP YOUR ASS

mikeylangelo: CASEY WHAT THE FUCK

chompy’s bitch: CASEY WE FUCKING TALKEDNL ABOUT THIS 

mikeylangelo: HIS OBSESSION WITH ASS...

mikeylangelo: unnerving

lol threesome: its way tooearly for this

fearless leader communist edition?: donnie its 2pm

lol threesome: it’s too fucking early\

mikeylangelo: if we were being controlled by a fanfiction writer . oh my god

mikeylangelo: THE POSSIBILITIES

mikeylangelo: he or she or they could make us!! go through another invasion. or. squirrelanoids. OR RABID ANTS. OR WASHING MACHINES THAT LIKE TO EAT PEOPLE. THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS

lol threesome: mikey i swear to fucking god

ginger from hell: WE’RE NOT BEING CONTROLLED BY A FANFICTION WRITER MIKEY

mikeylangelo: DONT SAY THAT THE TEENAGE GIRL IS GONNA MAKE YOUR LIFE HELL

ginger from hell: MY LIFE IS ALREADY HELL

fearless leader communist edition?: OH LOOK WE’RE FINALLY HERE!! LET’S GET OFF OUR PHONES AND ENJOY NATURE

chompy’s bitch: FUCK YEAH

chompy’s bitch: NATURE

mikeylangelo: that was so aggressive bye

-

Mikey slams the car door shut, untrusting of his once beloved party wagon. “I swear to fucking God if this car becomes evil,” he whispers, glaring at it so hard he imagined it burning under his gaze. Ice Cream Kitty meows at him from the cooler nestled snugly in his backpack and Mikey relents his death gaze, throwing a _yeah yeah im fine_ over his shoulder at her. He turns away and heads over to the rest of his family, taking in the towering evergreen trees and the clear, bright blue skies far overhead. It was chilly, but nothing he couldn’t handle. 

Donnie was glancing at his map - a _physical_ , real, in the flesh map, not something born from tech, and Mikey refuses to scoff at that. They wouldn’t have Donnie’s tech out there in the wilderness, and as much as Donnie relied on it, Leo had coaxed him out of it for this leg of the trip. Casey was stretching his legs out, talking animatedly with April, who had braided her hair back instead of keeping it in its usual ponytail. Raph and Leo were checking over the supplies, which were laying in front of the car in scattered piles, and Mikey walked over to them. “You guys need help?” he asks, wincing slightly as the hot gravel burned against his feet.

“Yeah, actually. You got a free shoulder for this?” Raph raises the tent, and Mikey reaches out to grab the strap, nearly buckling under the weight. He slings it over his shoulder anyway, knowing that if he refused with the tent Raph would probably try and load something else - something even _heavier_ \- on him.

“Casey, this shit is _heavy_ ,” Mikey whines, turning so he could glare at his tall black haired friend. “What the fuck are we putting in this tent? A small army?”

“Isn’t that what we are?” Casey asks and shit, he’s got a point. “It can fit _ten_ people in there, Mike. _Ten_. Looks like Don’s long ass limbs won’t be a problem tonight.”

“Shut up, Jones,” Donnie rolls his eyes, slipping the map into his own backpack and going back over to help Leo and Raph with what Mikey can tell is a carry-on cooler with all the food they’d be having tonight. April and Casey grab the rest of the supplies, throwing the canisters and duffels over their shoulders - and after Leo makes sure the car is locked, they’re finally ready to go.

“I’m already tired,” Mikey grumbles to ICK, who purrs and nestles deeper into her cooler so she doesn’t melt. Raph grabs Chompy from the ground and sets him on his shoulder, and they all listen up as Donnie briefs them. 

“Okay guys, so. We’re basically hiking up that mountain,” Donnie points at the mountain in the not too far off distance. It’d take maybe an hour to get to the base. “It’s called Granite Mountain. We’ll camp at the summit and come back tomorrow.”

“How long’s the hike?” Casey asks.

“Umm...7.8 miles -” Donnie’s cut off by the collective groaning from both his boyfriend and his younger brother.

“It’s good exercise, come on. We’ve got this,” Leo says, ever the motivational speaker of their group. “It’s really shady, and there’s a waterfall before we get to the mountain, we could -

“Go swimming?” Mikey perks up at that.

“I was _going_ to say rest and take pictures, but -

“Communist,” Mikey whispers, thankfully not caught by any of them. Sedated by the waterfall (and the fact that his only two choices were to come with or stay by the possessed car, alone), Mikey dutifully falls in line behind Raph and Leo, while Donnie, April, and Casey take up the rear. 

It’s easy going, walking under the tall evergreen trees on the soft padded dirt. Everything is so green, shady, and _clean_. It’s like being _reborn_ after living in New York’s polluted areas for so long. Mikey felt relaxed as he walked, just nothing but his family and his toned legs taking step after step as he makes a journey that isn’t a fight for his life. 

The conversation is light, switches between them all teasing each other and bantering like always to topics on what they would do if there was a zombie apocalypse (spoiler: they’d go to Alaska). They’re closer to the mountain now, close enough where Mikey can see the individual trees dotting it instead of a massive green blob. The trail weaves back and forth, but Mikey knows enough to save his strength and not run ahead. He’d be aching for flat ground as soon as they started trekking up the mountain.

“This is so beautiful,” April says for what seems like the fiftieth time, and they all collectively agree. “I never want to leave.”

“Just wait until we get to the top,” Leo lets his face fall back as he gazes upwards at the peak. “I bet the view is perfect.” 

“Careful Leo, you’re gonna trip and fall,” Raph says with a smirk as he sticks his leg out for Leo to trip over. Only seventeen years of ninja training kept him upright, and Leo threw out an arm to playfully hit Raph. The serene expression on their faces makes Mikey smile. He was so glad they’d talked things out as best they could back at the lair; he _knew_ how hard it was for them to do that, be blatant and honest with each other. After the fiasco that happened in the dojo...

He loses his train of thought as Casey shrieks, shaking Mikey’s shoulder violently. “Waterfall!” Casey yells enthusiastically, still shaking Mikey’s shoulders so quickly that Mikey swears he can feel his brain rattling around in his skull, and then with energy that leaves them all at a standstill, Casey whips past them and towards said waterfall with an excited whoop. Mikey grins, quickly running after him with an excited whoop of his own. Casey throws his stuff down and jumps in, and Mikey's _seconds_ away from doing the same thing.

The waterfall is _huge_ , pouring down from a steep drop into a large pool. It was also very, _very_ much abandoned, and Mikey’s so grateful for that as he drops his stuff next to Casey’s (minding ICK, of course) and leaps into the pool of water without a second thought. “Mikey!” he hears everyone yell in exasperation, but he disappears underwater before he could respond, completely submerges and loses himself to the feeling and lack of sight. 

His first thought was _wow its fucking cold_ but that doesn’t phase him much - he _was_ a ninja turtle. He does a few flips underwater, swimming down down _down_ to see how far down it really went. He touches the bottom after diving maybe twenty five feet, and with a grin he settles his feet at the floor and launches himself upwards. This was gonna be fun.

“GUYSSSS!” he yells as soon as he’s out and able to properly see. The rest of them have gathered at the edge of the pool and are dipping tentative toes in - besides Casey, who’s soaking wet on the bank and already shivering. “I went to the bottom! It’s deep as _fuck_ ,” he adds as they all raise eyebrows at him. “I’m gonna go jump off from the top!”

“That’s so fucking dangerous and I’m totally in,” Raph cracks his knuckles with a grin, making Leo groan. “How far down does the water go?”

“Twenty-five feet, give or take.” 

“Fuck yeah, let’s do it. Who’s coming with?” Raph turns to the rest of them and rolls his eyes when none of them jump at the offer immediately. “Pussies.”

“I’ll do it,” April grins, pulling her shirt up and over her head, then doing the same to her shorts until all she’s left in is a sports bra and panties. Mikey doesn’t mind, since he sees her as a sister, but he has to hide a laugh as Casey and Donnie both simultaneously stare at her and then at literally anything else, a light blush on their faces. She reaches out and gives Raph a high five. “Cliff jumping here we go!” 

“Are _none_ of you remembering we still have a hike to finish -” Leo’s cut off as both Raph and Mikey grab his shoulders with every intent to frog march him up the steep slope to jump off with them. With an annoyed sigh he finally relents and cuts loose a bit, glancing over his shoulder. “Fine. Donnie, Casey, you’re coming too. Leader’s orders.”

“I’m _cold_ ,” Casey complains, but follows anyway. Donnie makes tired noises in his throat but murmurs his assent, eyeing the water nervously. Mikey grins as they fall in, and leads the way up. They have to climb, and it’s not the easiest climb ever, the mountain’s full of loose gravel and the rocks are slick from the water spray, but they make it to the top after about ten minutes of both encouraging and taunting each other to see who'd wimp out first. 

“Maybe this wasn’t the best idea we’ve ever had,” Donnie says weakly as he looks at the fast moving current and the dizzying drop under them. 

“Too late now!” Mikey grins cheerfully, pinching his wrist to ease his nervous and exhilarated energy. “Are we jumping together or separately?”

“Let’s do it separately first - _Mikey! Oh for fuck's sake not again_ -

Mikey didn’t listen to another word after 'separately', barely registering the cold on his feet as he _runs_ into the current, heads straight for the edge of the waterfall and leaps off. “Booyakasha!” he tries to scream as he falls the forty feet drop, voice faltering and eyes watering from the air whipping into his face as he points his feet straight down, neatly landing without any whiplash. Mikey makes his way back up to the surface, sees their faces peeking over the edge nervously. “It’s all good down here!” he shouts up at them, though he doesn’t think they can hear. He backstrokes to the bank and sits next to their supplies, content to watch them come down. ICK meows at him approvingly and Mikey dips his head in satisfaction. He totally _did_ that.

It takes about three minutes before the next person comes down, and it’s _Raph_ , and Donnie’s falling with him, screaming bloody murder and curses and Mikey knows instantly that Raph had pushed him and had probably fallen overboard as well. Laughing, Mikey watches as they land, causing a huge splash, and come back up spluttering and coughing. Donnie growls, launches himself at Raph as soon as he’s caught his breath, and they tussle for a minute in the water before April shouts at them that she’s coming down.

April _dives_ in, from forty feet above, and Mikey would probably be impressed if he wasn’t so jealous as she barely makes a dent in the water. Donnie applauds and Raph high fives her after she's come up but they’re back to arguing again, swimming closer to the bank where Mikey sits. April shoots Mikey a fond smile and an exasperated eye roll at his brother's and Mikey returns it, scooting over so she could sit down. Raph and Donnie, barely finished with their argument, decide on a temporary truce to watch the last two come down.

Casey _falls_ , instead of jumps. He’s screaming, flailing in the air, and he _falls_. Like a. Fucking. Psychotic bird. He hits the water hard, probably only avoided getting any burns on his skin because he still had his fucking _clothes_ on instead of removing them like April had. When he reappears, black hair in his eyes and drenched down to the bone - Mikey, Raph, Donnie, and April give him a standing ovation, jeering and asking for him to do it again. “Shut the fuck up,” he yells furiously over at them. “That shit was _scary._ ” 

“The peanut gallery hears your words,” Mikey says, angling his thumb down. “But you suck.”

“When I get over there - 

Leo plops down effortlessly next to Casey not even a second later, returning to the surface with a _beam_ on his face. “That was _fun_!” he exclaims, his sopping blue mask now hanging around his neck. He looks less like their leader and a kid who's finally appreciated the art of exhilaration. “Let’s do that again!” 

They couldn’t say no to a face like that, all happy and joyful and so fiercely exuberant, so they all mentally prepare themselves for the long climb up. Mikey, with a grin, takes out his t-phone and passes it to ICK. She can barely hold it, and it’ll be all sticky later, but she agrees readily with a purr when he asks her for a favor. Kissing her nose, he runs after the others.

At the top, they’re slightly out of breath from the climb but still energized for the drop back down. Mikey’s not as tense this time, as he’s taken the fall now, so he’s content to wait as Leo makes _The face_ , probably about to make a dramatic speech.

“Let’s jump together!” is all he says instead, and the others agree readily, finally walking into the current with slow, controlled movements. Without thinking about it, Mikey reaches out for Donnie’s hand, takes Leo’s with his other, and grasps them as hard as he can as they stop in front of the edge, digging their feet in to avoid being swept overboard. They grip his hands back just as hard, concentrating on staying upwards and not falling forwards into what would probably be the most painful dive ever.

Leo’s got Raph’s hand, who’s got Casey’s, while Donnie grips April’s, and they’re standing in front of the forty foot drop, hands intertwined in a chain. Mikey grins, he should be panicking, mentally stabilizing himself for what was about to come, but he feels at peace. Just being there with them, the most important people in his life, it - 

“I love you guys!” Mikey shouts over the noise of the waterfall, and they all look at him, goofy smiles etched on both his brother’s and his closest friends. They echo it back immediately, that they loved him and each-other, and Mikey, with his heart in his throat, sprints forward, dragging both Leo and Donnie with him.

(Later, after they’ve all hit the water and dried off and are back to finish their hike, Mikey takes the slightly sticky phone from his mutant cat and opens his camera app. The pictures there, of all of them together with life in their eyes and hands still tightly interlocked as they fall, makes it to Mikey’s lockscreen immediately and the groupchat right after).

-

They’d hiked onward for another two hours, up the mountainside, following the trail. Mikey sucks it up, knowing that it’d all be worth it once he got to the top, and he was _not_ disappointed as he - as _they_ , finally, reached the summit. They reach what Leo decides on the campground, a little clearing maybe the size of the dojo back home, and drop their supplies on the ground with a relieved sigh (Raph doesn’t let go of Chompy, worried that he’d manage to fall off, and it makes Mikey coo inwardly on how cute Raph was with his pets). 

They should be working on the campsite, but they take in the view for a moment, the large expanse of mountains stretching off in every direction as far as they could see, the sunset changing the colors of the sky from blue to pink to purple to orange and red and yellow and Mikey’s never seen anything so beautiful in his entire life. They’re so high up that they can see white, fluffy clouds above and _underneath_ them, and the air brings a promise of rain. Mikey grins, so grateful he’d come up here. Leo was right; it’d been so worth it. 

Eventually dragging his gaze away from the magnificent view, he helps the others unpack, laughing as Casey struggles with the tent (and has to get both Donnie _and_ Leo to help). He helps April make a fire, watching the small tendrils of smoke disappear into the air, and drags the rest of their unpacked items into the tent for safekeeping. Raph’s dealing with the food, unpacking the hot dogs and hamburgers and snacks that Casey and April had bought in preparation for the trip. They’d even brought _marshmallows_! Mikey makes an excited noise as he sees all the food and the rest of them snicker, knowing that after all of these years, at least his love for food hasn’t changed.

When they’re _finally_ situated, and the Sun has long since disappeared and the fire is the only thing outlining their faces as they sit around it and they're watching the food grill with content expressions on their faces, Mikey fully relaxes. ICK sits in her cooler by Mikey, far enough from the fire that she wouldn’t melt but close enough to be included in their little huddle. 

“I miss him,” Donnie breaks the silence after a while, causing them all to startle. Donnie’s opposite from Mikey across the fire, in the middle while April and Casey flank his sides. He’s staring at the fire as he talks. “Splinter, I mean. But not just that? I miss when we were younger, too, but it’s not like I wish that we could go back. Does that make sense? Today, yesterday, the day before, it was just. It’s so much fun. I’ve never had this much _fun_ before.”

“There’s a part of me that,” Donnie pauses, drags his knees up to his chest and rests his chin on them, purple bandanna flying in the light breeze. “There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to go back. Just stay out here, the six of us, forever.”

“We’ll do that one day,” Casey leans forward, grabs a stick and tends to the fire. “In the future, I mean. Once my sis can take care of herself n’ my Dad’s all well an’ good and we finally finish school. Then we can just...I don’t know. Get the hell out of New York for good.”

“Where would we go?” Leo asks from next to Raph, joining the conversation. “And what about Karai and Shini?” 

“I’d always thought they’d join us later. After Karai finds the next heir to the Foot or whatever,” April says, letting her hair out of its tight, still slightly wet braid. “But that could take years. We’d be in our sixties before she’d finally get out of that church.” They all chuckle lightly as they imagined Karai, late in age, still barking orders with Shinigami at her side. “As for where we’d go...I mean. Anywhere,” she says, somewhat wistfully.

“Britain?” Mikey asks, ignoring the eye roll Raph sends him. “Or. Europe in general. Paris.”

“Oh come on, I’m tired of the cities. Let’s go somewhere in the country. Ireland, maybe.” Raph proposes.

“Ew, _leprechauns_.” Mikey shivers, remembering Leo's hesitant explanation that leprechauns weren't actually real and how it'd crushed him - and his brothers snort. 

It’s silent again before Mikey tentatively speaks up. “I have an...apology to make? To April and Casey, and...well, everyone. I’m sorry for being so distant these last few weeks, and never showing up in the lair, and for spending all of my time with the Mutanimals instead of just. I don’t know,” Mikey shrugs helplessly, twirling his short bandanna with his fingers. “I’ve missed you guys, so much. And when we were at the waterfall...I don’t know. I just. Couldn’t live without you guys, and I’m tired of pretending that I can.”

“I think we all need to echo that apology, since we’re all extremely fuckin’ shitty at communicating,” Raph agrees. “Especially me. I just had so much untapped anger after. Shredder, after Splinter. It’s just. It was hard. It’s still hard.”

“I don’t want to burden that alone,” Leo sighs. “Not anymore. We all need each other, more now than ever.”

“You lost your _Dad_. You were grieving. You’re still grieving. Taking off for a couple months, Mikey, you don’t _need_ to apologize. None of you do. We understand,” April smiles sadly, and Casey nods. “We’re on a crazy road trip, in _Washington_. And we’re _together_. That has to count for something.”

She tries to let that sink in, but Casey comes in fast to fill that hole and break the silence again. “You guys are so fucking sappy.”

“Shut up, dickweed,” Donnie murmurs, half heatedly slapping his shoulder. “I will send you back down the mountain.”

“Chill, Don,” Casey settles back down, dropping the stick into the dirt and leaning back. “You know I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

The food’s ready maybe ten minutes later, with Donnie and Leo performing inspections just in case because it’s hard to tell in the dark. April passes out plastic plates and buns, plus mustard and ketchup, and the conversation moves on to lighter topics as they eat.

“So, wait, hold on a minute Leo,” Donnie laughs, swallowing the rest of his hamburger before he continues. “Why the fuck did you keep all of that money? I thought you guys burned the place down.”

Leo grins. “It’s not that interesting, actually. Shini was like, ‘We could buy so much cool shit with this’ and I agreed, but Karai didn’t want any of the stolen money traced back to the Foot so she burned the place down just in case. We all took some of the cash, though. It seemed like such a waste to burn it all down, especially if there was an emergency and one of us was in danger.”

“Wow, a communist with good intentions for his people,” Raph chuckles, barely managing to avoid the plastic plate aimed at his head. “Stop _littering_ , Leo!” 

The conversation stretches on and on, for literal _hours_ , jumping from one topic to another until Donnie glances at his phone to check the time and realizes it’s almost 11:00. Not the latest time ever, but if they were going to get up early enough to pack up, get down to the car, and start the drive to Oregon, they’d need as much sleep as they could.

Mikey dampens the fire out, kicking dirt on it as the first raindrops pelts the top of their heads, and they all quickly retreat back into the tent as the wind picks up and the rain comes down a bit harder. They argue like the family they are, shoving and kicking and trying to get out of eachother's spaces, but they end up curled around eachother anyway, the quiet whispers and hushed laughter fading into the noise outside. 

Mikey falls asleep with someone’s arm, (probably Leo’s, considering the scars) flung against his plasteron, and either Casey or April’s hair tickling his neck as they shift, struggling to get comfortable. The smile stretched across his - Mikey’s - face - is _permanent_ , even in sleep. 

There’s no nightmares tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey u guys thank u so so much for. reading this story?? like the support im getting from u guys means so so much and i just. <33 i wish i could hug all of u!! every kudos, every comment just. makes my day thank u thank u thank u
> 
> anyway!! next time we meet they'll be at the BEACH and that's so exciting i love the beach
> 
> ALSO THIS FIC IS A MONTH OLD :DD


	20. on the road again

shaggy: YO GUYS WASHINGTON WAS FUCKING SICK

lol threesome: casey please stop you’ve said that like fifteen times already

shaggy: BUT IT WAS 

fearless leader communist edition?: mikey how did you get ick to take a picture of us coming down that was so cool

mikeylangelo: i ASKED !! my phone got sticky doe its all good

mikeylangelo: OH do u guys want pics from the top

mikeylangelo: i took some b4 we left

chompy’s bitch: i didn’t see you with your phone out at all before we left

mikeylangelo: oh um

mikeylangelo: i couldn’t sleep LDSAJSD i got up early

lol threesome: mikey..

mikeylangelo: i was okay! promise i just wanted to look around

_mikeylangelo sent a picture to the chat  
  
_ _mikeylangelo sent a picture to the chat_

_mikeylangelo sent a picture to the chat_

_mikeylangelo sent a picture to the chat  
  
_ _mikeylangelo sent a picture to the chat_

ginger from hell: oh my god wow

ginger from hell: the sunrise is so pretty :(( mikey ur too talented

mikeylangelo: thank u sm :D

fearless leader communist leader?: the pic of us at the waterfall is my phone lockscreen now 

lol threesome: mine too

ginger from hell: MINE TOO PLEALJEAJD DO YOU SEE CASEYS FACE

shaggy: SHUT UPTESFS I DIDNT KNOW ICK WAS TAKING A PICTURE 

mikeylangelo: the waterfall was so much fun

mikeylangelo: like. when we were all standing up there together

ginger from hell: WE WERE SO SAPPY

mikeylangelo: even raph :( wish i got that on camera

chompy’s bitch: shut up mikey stop im never showing affection ever again

mikeylangelo: NOOO :(

lol threesome: leo next vacation we’re going back right

fearless leader communist leader?: I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO HAWAII NEXT VACATION

chompy’s bitch: I WANTED TO SEE A FUCKING VOLCANO SHUT THE FUCK UP WE’RE GOING TO HAWAII

ginger from hell: let’s just get through this one first HWELDSA

ginger from hell: but i wanna visit that waterfall again that was so much fun

ginger from hell: AND CAMPING

ginger from hell: THE HIKE WAS SO WORTH IT

ginger from hell: AND NOW WE’RE GOING TO A BEACH

mikeylangelo: I KNWEOSFRJIE IM SO EXCITED :D

ginger from hell: :D

shaggy: YOU GUYS ARE SO POSITIVE AND CUTE IT'S SICKENING

ginger from hell: SHUT UP

mikeylangelo: SHUT UP

lol threesome: you were shut down TWICE!! eat it jones

shaggy: my ass

lol threesome: STOP

fearless leader communist edition?: ok so we’re almost to oregon 

fearless leader communist edition?: giving it about another two hours until we’re at cannon beach! 

fearless leader communist edition?: after that we’re going out of oregon down into california,, into san fran and then we’ll be taking highway one which is like. a highway directly by the ocean.

mikeylangelo: omg a HIGHWAY BY THE OCEAN THATS SO FUCKING COOL

fearless leader communist edition?: and. i don’t know i really don’t have a plan for after that

lol threesome: we can camp out by the beach for a few days right?? i mean.

lol threesome: we’ve never seen an actual. beach with. Sand

chompy’s bitch: we could MAKE A SURVIVAL THING 

chompy’s bitch: like reality tv

shaggy: RAPH NO THIS IS A VACATION WE’RE NOT BUTCHERING SMALL ANIMALS WHEN THERES PROBABLY A SUPERMARKET SOMEWHERE

chompy’s bitch: FUCK YOU I WANNA KNOW WHAT THE WILDERNESS IS LIKE 

mikeylangelo: RAPH?? WE LIVE IN A SEWER

fearless leader communist edition?: how did this conversation get off track so quickly

lol threesome: i swear to god im the only one besides you with actual braincells

mikeylangelo: DONNIE RAPHS TOUCHING UR STUFFFFF

lol threesome: RAPH GET YOUR FUCKING SCALY ASS HANDS OFF OF MY SHIT OR IM GONNA COME BACK THERE AND SMACK YOU UPSIDE YOUR LARGE ASS HEAD SO HARD YOU SEE ANOTHER DIMMENSION

fearless leader communist edition?: what was that you were you saying about braincells

shaggy: oh m

shaggy: wheres the emoji with the heart eyes

ginger from hell: casey thats lowk hot isnt it

shaggy: donnie yelling. yeah please sign me up

ginger from hell: kinky bitch

shaggy: THEN WHY ARE YOU BLUSHING

ginger from hell: AM NOT

lol threesome: ;) 

mikeylangelo: . NOT THE WINKY FACE

mikeylangelo: april casey please shut the fuck up we’re trying to have a battle

mikeylangelo: STOP DISTRACTING DONNIE W SEX LANGUAGE???????

chompy’s bitch: i DONT WANT TO HAVE A BATTLE CAN I JUST FUCKING RELAX FOR TWO SECONDS

chompy’s bitch: I WASN’T EVEN TOUCHING YOUR SHIT DONNIE

chompy’s bitch: MIKEY STOP DO YOU WANT DONNIE TO COME BACK HERE

lol threesome: that’s it im coming back there

mikeylangelo: NO

chompy’s bitch: NO

mikeylangelo: donot comeback here do not noo

mikeylangelo: non ono onooon ono no no nono 

chompy’s bitch: MIKEY HES COMING BACK HERE THIS IS YOUR FUCKING FAULT

chompy’s bitch: I JUST WANTED TO FUCKING NAP BUT NO APPARENTLY THATS TOO MUCH

mikeylangelo: haha listen donnie raph wasnt actually touching ur stuff i just wanted to like haha word battle haha dont come back here pls noo haha dont kill us noo haha NOOO hahaa NOOOOOOOOO hahahahah funny funny right donnie pleas fdeosfjsdl noOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

ginger from hell: is he laughing or screaming for his life

fearless leader communist edition?: im just. going to go to bed 

shaggy: IM SHOTGUN RN...surprised you guys forgot

shaggy: i guess its time to really figure out leos obsession with justin beiber

fearless leader communist edition?: oh. oh no.

fearless leader communist edition?: come on casey please

shaggy: PLEASEEEE hey leo whats ya fav jb song

fearless leader communist edition?: .

fearless leader communist edition?: not answering that question

shaggy: fine

shaggy: donnie raph mikey whats leo’s fav jb song

fearless leader communist edition?: you . no ohjno

fearless leader communist edition?: if any of you answer him. 

lol threesome: BEATUY AND A BEAT

shaggy: PPKEWALRHERJA NOT BEAUTY AND A BEAT

fearless leader communist edition?: ?$%@^#$ DONNIE FUCK YOU

lol threesome: :(

mikeylangelo: I LOVE THAT SONG LOWKEY..

mikeylangelo: nicki minaj’s part slaps 

chompy’s bitch: as hell

lol threesome: here come the barbs

ginger from hell: DONNIERFJS

mikeylangelo: jb is boring rolls eyes can we listen to t swizzle

shaggy: the fuck 

shaggy: whos t swizzle

ginger from hell: taylor swift

ginger from hell: are you not a swiftie casey 

ginger from hell: sighs

chompy’s bitch: i swear if we start fucking arguing about taylor swift albums again im leaving 

fearless leader communist edition?: how dare you?? mikey??? calling my man boring??

mikeylangelo: LEO?%#@%@#$# HELP JUSTIN’S MARRIED

mikeylangelo: u lost ur chance bbq

fearless leader communist edition?: SHUT UP IN MY HEART WE ARE MARRIED BABY BABY BABY OOH

ginger from hell: IMRRRRCJKSLFESSRJA

chompy’s bitch: LEO never speak to me again

fearless leader communist edition?: did you just call me barbeque

mikeylangelo: its like bbg

mikeylangelo: u know?? beautiful baby girl 

mikeylangelo: instead of bbg its bbq <3

mikeylangelo: GENDER NEUTRAL

lol threesome: what does the q stand for

mikeylangelo: quails

lol threesome: QUAILSDJSFS

shaggy: BEAUTIFUL BABY QUAILS

shaggy: IM DONE

mikeylangelo: IT WQAS THE FIRST Q WORD I COULD THINK OF??? SHUT THE FUCK UP

lol threesome: i can think of a lot of words that start with q

fearless leader communist edition?: oh no

lol threesome: qadi

lol threesome: qaid

lol threesome: qats

mikeylangelo: donnie

lol threesome: quat

lol threesome: quag

shaggy: DONNIE

lol threesome: quay

_ginger from hell kicked lol threesome from the chat!_

-

_lol threesome - ginger from hell_

lol threesome: APRIL ADD ME BACK 

ginger from hell: no

lol threesome: please

ginger from hell: :/

lol threesome: i love you 

lol threesome: my favorite person alive i adore you id go to the ends of the world to make you happy

lol threesome: <3

-

_ginger from hell added lol threesome to the chat!_

lol threesome: QADIS QAIDS QIBLA QIRSH QIYAS QOPHS QUACK QUADS QUAFF

QUAGS QUAIL QUAIS QUAKE QUAKY QUALE QUALM QUANT QUARE QUARK QUART QUASH QUASI QUASS QUATE QUAYS QUEAN QUEEN QUEER QUELL QUERN QUERY QUEST QUEUE QUEYS QUICK QUIDS QUIET QUIFF QUILL QUILT QUINS QUINT QUIPS QUIPU QUIRE QUIRK QUIRT QUITE QUITS QUODS QUOIN QUOIT QUOTA QUOTE QUOTH

QURSH

chompy’s bitch: DONNIE IN GIUBG TI KILLY OU

_ginger from hell kicked lol threesome from the chat!_

mikeylangelo: DONNIE WHAT THE FUCK

shaggy: DID HE JUST SEND EVERY Q WORD HE KNOWS

chompy’s bitch: I FUCKING HATE IT HERERISSSDSAFSA

fearless leader communist edition?: i hate every single one of you

mikeylangelo: WHAT DID WE DO

ginger from hell: might want to rethink ur statements there leo :D

fearless leader communist edition?: no i did

fearless leader communist edition?: think about my statements i mean

fearless leader communist edition?: i hate all of you

ginger from hell: aw cute

_ginger from hell kicked fearless leader communist edition? from the chat!_

mikeylangelo: YEAHHH APRIL NATION WE THRIVING

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey :D 
> 
> im rly tired of school already god imagine how tired i am
> 
> anywayyy i miss u guys how are u all ?? hows ur day how are u doing <3 i feel like ive been gone for years help
> 
> sorry this is more of a filler?? im . not proud of it sorry i kinda just threw it together i hope it makes u smile <3


	21. one hour until we get to the dumb mf beach and these people are driving me insane literally insane god can they stop for ten whole secon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE A WRITTEN ONE & IT'LL TAKE ME A BIT TO WRITE OUT SO I WROTE ANOTHER FILLER FOR U GUYS :D enjoy

mikeylangelo: BUT I GOT THIS FEELING!!!

mikeylangelo: tell me good god i knoww

mikeylangelo: TOUCH U SOFTLY YEAHH

mikeylangelo: ibcall u up late at night

mikeylangelo: NO DOUBT IT ISNT RIGHT

mikeylangelo: vut u could be my one and onyl

chompy’s bitch: oh my fucking god not again

chompy’s bitch: mikey sop we are TRYING to relax 

lol threesome: yeah mikey QUIT IT WITH THE CLAIRO LYRICS

chompy’s bitch: donnie you’re on the edge

chompy’s bitch: you and leo both

chompy’s bitch: after what you pulled with the q words

lol threesome: im suprised april let me back in 

ginger from hell: im regretting it already shut it im trying to nap 

ginger from hell: we still have half an hour before we get to the beach and i will be up the entire fucking night trying to keep you idiots out of trouble

lol threesome: april ??? you know we can take care of ourselves right

ginger from hell: is that a serious question

ginger from hell: mikey literally wants to swim far enough into the ocean he sees a fucking shark

ginger from hell: and BEFRIEND IT

mikeylangelo: yeah yeah shark and mikey supremacy

ginger from hell: STOP IT IM LITERALLY GOING TO CHAIN YOU TO A TREE

mikeylangelo: try n catch me sexy u cant

mikeylangelo: lolzies

_ ginger from hell kicked mikeylangelo from the chat! _

ginger from hell: anyway

ginger from hell: raph wants to butcher small animals and casey’s probably going to help him

chompy’s bitch: IM NOT GOING TO BUTCHER SMALL ANIMALS WHJERE DID YOU GUYS GET THAT FROM

chompy’s bitch: the only animal i will be butchering is

ginger from hell: if that’s a dirty joke im going to kill you

chompy’s bitch: HOW IS THAT A DITRTY JOKE

chompy’s bitch: are we talking about my dick

lol threesome: no

ginger from hell: no

ginger from hell: please god no

chompy’s bitch: lobster. i want lobster

ginger from hell: LOBSTER??? 

lol threesome: raph where in the everlasting fuck are we going to get lobster

chompy’s bitch: the ocean duh

ginger from hell: mikey won’t shut the fuck up im adding him back

_ ginger from hell added mikeylangelo to the chat! _

ginger from hell: mikey fo not say a WORD

mikeylangelo: party rock anthem

_ ginger from hell removed mikeylangelo from the chat! _

lol threesome: HELPFDPS

ginger from hell: I TOLD HIM NOT TO TALK?? YALL NEVER LEARN ROLLS EYES

chompy’s bitch: im still surprised someone so short can be so intimidating

ginger from hell: YOU’RE SHORTYER THAN ME??:? THE FUCK IS THIS

ginger from hell: im 5’7 :(

lol threesome: FIVE SEVENRSFJK

ginger from hell: shut UPP SHUT UPTOFD GOD I FUCKING HATRE YOU YOU ARE LITERALLY! SIX FEET! FUCKING GIANT

lol threesome: im literally going to boil you alive

ginger from hell: kinky

ginger from hell: get on with it already

lol threesome: ;)

chompy’s bitch: tyhe fuck is wrong with you people

shaggy: OH YEAH GANGS ACTIVE IN THR GROUPCHAT

shaggy: PARTY ROCKERS IN THE HOUSE TONIGHTTT

lol threesome: .

lol threesome: casey its

lol threesome: ‘party rock is’

shaggy: shut the fuck up donnie

shaggy: should we kiss rn

lol threesome: i mean it’d be awkward if we didn’t 

chompy’s bitch: this is agonizing

chompy’s bitch: just fuck already it’d be less painful then reading this 

ginger from hell: okay

chompy’s bitch: APRIL NOT IN THE FUCKJING CAR STOP KEEP YOUR SHITRT ON

fearless leader communist edition?: whats going on

chompy’s bitch: look who fucking FINALLY woke up

chompy’s bitch: oh nothing much april donnie and casey are just having a threesome in the car 

fearless leader communist edition?: WHATTJF

ginger from hell: WE ARE NOT

lol threesome: I JUST KISSED CASEY. WE ARE NOT HAVING SEX

lol threesome: not yet anyway

fearless leader communist edition?: DONNIE

chompy’s bitch: i hate you 

chompy’s bitch: so much

fearless leader communist edition?: wheres mikey

chompy’s bitch: he’s an outcast in this episode of ‘what the fuck: hamato clan groupchat’

ginger from hell: should i add him back i feel bad

shaggy: do it 

shaggy: actually dont do it he’ll be annoying and say ewww for like twenty hours

shaggy: actually do it its funnier when he complains

lol threesome: REMEMBER WHEN HE CALLED US A SANDWICH

shaggy: STOPPDSA THAT STILL MAKES ME LAUGH

_ ginger from hell added mikeylangelo to the chat! _

mikeylangelo: nice to see you guys remembered me >:( thankies

chompy’s bitch: be glad you missed it they were talking about sex again

mikeylangelo: ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

shaggy: WHAT THE FUCK DID I SAY

shaggy: im a magician

shaggy: i can see the future

ginger from hell: can you predict this

_ ginger from hell kicked shaggy from the chat! _

mikeylangelo: YEAH TAKE HIM DOWN

mikeylangelo: april doin gods work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sigh <3 i adore them but they're so stupid


	22. oregon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this was a birthday present for myself <3 enjoy u guys! :D

_Day ONE of THREE, the beach. Oregon, 1:05PM_

As soon as they’d touched the sands of Cannon Beach, Oregon, Mikey whips out of the car first, heading towards the ocean without a moment's notice. Leo feels like he should call after him, tell him to slow down, but the beach is literally abandoned (probably because it was winter time and who the hell came to the beach during the winter?) so Leo swallows his outburst. Hearing the excited yelps out of the youngest - and then Raph, and Casey, and finally Donnie and April as they all sprinted after Mikey makes Leo nearly forget all precautions. 

After making sure the car was parked neatly, perfectionist that he was, he followed after his family. Mikey’s standing at the edge, just out of reach from the water, and he’s not going in yet, just staring disbelievingly with a forlorn expression. Raph grabs Casey and _throws_ him in, laughing hysterically at Casey’s unmanly shriek followed by several yells of indignation. Donnie and April laugh too, hands entangled, and as Leo runs to catch up, he suddenly feels a huge bout of affection for the five of them. There was nobody else he wanted to be with, no other place he’d rather be. 

“Hey, Leo,” Raph shouts back at him with the most carefree smile Leo has ever seen on his usually headstrong, angry brother. “We’re goin’ in together, right?”

“Oh, fuck you!” Casey says, crawling out of the water, sopping wet, teeth chattering. Leo reaches them, and without answering his question he leaps at Raph, catching his brother off guard. Raph yells in surprise as his shell hits the water (and soft sand, underneath the waves) and shrieks just like Casey, his entire body soaked. Leo rolls off him immediately, partially to get away from Raph’s obvious upcoming retaliation, partially because the water was _cold_ , mostly because it was _hilarious_ and he couldn’t stop laughing. 

_“Leo_!” Raph splutters angrily and, flipping onto his knees, splashes water at his brother. Leo’s laugh turns into a yelp halfway through and he falls back towards Donnie and April, hoping to hide behind them. 

“No! Don’t bring Raph over here!” Donnie pleads, refusing point blank to let Leo use him and his girlfriend as a place to escape Raph’s fury. “Leo…” Donnie trails off as he sees Leo’s mischievous expression and pales. “Leo, Leo _no_ \- 

“Come on, Raph! Help me get Donnie in,” Leo calls, instantly changing track from hiding to getting them all in the water, not moving his gaze away from his purple banded brother.

“Come on, Dee, we were going to turn on you sooner or later,” Mikey giggles and comes from the side. As Donnie steps away from April, Leo, and Mikey, he forgets about his other brother and bumps straight into Raph. “Don’t fight it, dude.” Mikey singsongs as Donnie’s expression goes from nervous to horrified.

“No! Do not - _Raph_!” Donnie yells as Raph literally _scoops_ him into a fireman’s carry and starts trekking back into the ocean. Donnie pounds Raph’s shell and does _not_ stop complaining as Raph gets farther and farther in. “Raphael you fucking idiot _put me_ _down_ , I have my T-Phone on me, if you throw me in I swear to fucking God -

“You’re a liar, Don!” Casey snickers from the ground, still shivering. “We left our phones in the car.”

“Oh, Jones, you are so going to get it!” Donnie screams just before Raph grabs Donnie’s body and throws him in. He’s barely under the water for a second before he crawls back up, shrieking. “You - stupid - _ugh_ , I hate you! Why the fuck are you laughing I literally _despise_ you you should be running in fear I fucking _hate_ you!” Donnie exclaims, very quickly and very angrily, and as Leo watches Donnie leaps and knocks Raph backwards, much like Leo did only a minute before. They tussle in the water, throwing punches and arguing.

“Middle children, right?” Mikey looks over at Leo, and Leo feels a bout of nostalgia. 

“They’re weird as _fuck_ ,” Leo agrees, grinning. “Let’s go join them?” he proposes and Mikey pretends to think about it. “Casey, April?” he extends the invitation to his human friends.

“Erm, well, it’s kinda _cold_ in there,” April wraps her arms around her body, taking a step back like she was considering against it. “But I’m totally in!” She looks down at her boyfriend. “Carry me in?” 

“Bridal style?” Casey asks, pulling himself off the ground.

“No. On your shoulders. I wanna feel tall,” she says, ignoring the snorts of laughter from Mikey even though the twerp was literally just as tall as her. 

“You just don’t wanna get in the water,” Casey teases. April narrows her eyes.

“I _will_ get into the water, dickweed. Right now, in fact. Come on,” she turns away from them, stripping herself down to her undergarments and tossing her shoes and socks farther onto the rocks. She takes a tentative step in, exhales, and takes another. And another. Soon she’s up to her hip. 

“April!” Donnie yells, and before April can crane her head towards her other boyfriend he crashes into her, sending them both underwater. Gasping for air as she resurfaces, she glares at Donnie’s sheepish expression. 

“What was that for?” she demands, the hint of a smile playing on her lips at his carefree expression.

“Sorry, I just missed you,” he grins at her and April smirks, splashing him with water that neither of them could feel the coldness of anymore. Donnie giggles, reaching under the water for her. “You wanna go jump Raph and Leo?” he whispers, and April’s smirk instantly grows. 

“Hell yeah!” 

Casey was slowly inching with no apparent direction, shivering as the breeze picked up a notch. Leo and Mikey were taking their first steps in, ignoring Raph’s taunting as he floated lazily on his back farther out. They were clear. Moving silently through the water like the ninja they were, Raph had no chance as he was dragged under by April and Donnie.

Giggling at Raph’s surprised _squeal_ as he was dunked, April and Donnie let Raph resurface and swim away as quickly as possible. Raph gets his bearings back pretty quickly and chases after them, cursing the entire way. Casey, who wants in, leaps on top of Raph and instantly they’re a mess of limbs.

Panting lightly, April and Donnie stop and laugh at Raph’s strangled screams and hysterical yelling from Casey. “Exactly! _Exactly_ , Casey! Threesome for the win!” April exclaims.

“Shut up before I throw up!” Mikey says, and Donnie and April exchange glances. Wrong move, Mikey.

“You take Mikey, and I’ll take Leo,” Don offers. 

“Why? Don’t think I can take Leo?” April asks, cocking her hip to the side.

“Oh, no. You could definitely take Leo. I just want revenge.” 

“I was teasing, babe. Take him down,” April presses a kiss to Donnie’s cheek and dives back under. Smirking, Donnie approaches his brother and notices Leo freeze, eyes flitting between Donnie and Mikey, who was still standing next to him. 

Well, _was_ standing next to him, only for a second. April emerges from behind Mikey from thin air and leaps on top of him, causing the surprised and unsuspecting orange-banded turtle to stagger forwards and fall facedown into the water. Without hesitating, Donnie surges forward and sweeps Leo’s feet out from under him - and Leo, who was distracted by Mikey’s sudden takedown, forgot to be focused on the genius.

With Leo and Mikey down, and Casey retreating back away from Raph into the relative safety of his boyfriend and girlfriend - Donnie, April, and Casey exchange triumphant grins. 

But only for a moment before they were attacked on all fronts by the rest of their family, who had apparently decided to take on a temporary truce.

The fight that followed kept smiles etched into their faces for hours afterwards.

  
  


_Day ONE of THREE, the beach. Oregon, 8:54PM_

  
  


“I can see the stars,” Mikey observes as he leans back on his arms against the soft sand, looking upwards with a wistful expression. Indeed, the stars were visible from where they were camped on the beach. Tent unpacked, bonfire getting along nicely with the driftwood they’d found farther up the shore and dragged back.

Raph kicks his shin lightly. “Get closer to the fire, Mike. It’s freezing,” he says, but looks up himself. “Wow. You really can. That’s...crazy.”

“Haven’t seen them so clear since we were up there,” Mikey mumbles, doing as Raph says and sliding closer to the fire (but not too close, he needed to keep ICK in mind). “How long ago was that?” 

“Since...space?” Leo asks from next to Donnie, across the fire. He was on his second pizza slice and the only one still eating. “It’s been a full year by now, hasn’t it?” 

“A full year?” Casey repeats, shaking his head. “That’s...crazy,” he echoes Raph. “So much has happened.”

So much has happened since they’ve come back, too. Regaining New York, sending their literal clones out into space with a professor they had thought betrayed them, meeting Shinigami, having Shredder lose the Foot, having Karai build the Foot back _up_ , losing April to insanity, losing Splinter... _killing Shredder_ …

“Do you think,” Donnie starts, knees pulled close to his chest, mirroring his pose from their night in Washington. “When we go back to New York there’ll be some new enemy?”

“What do you mean, Dee?” April asks, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“The Kraang part two. Or, I don’t know. Another mafia. Maybe Karai’s gone power hungry and turned evil and wants us dead. Or maybe our space clones want their lives back. Either way, it’s been quiet for two months. Almost three. What’s the hold up? Where’s the punch line? It just...doesn’t make sense. This is what we’re supposed to do. _It’s what we’re supposed to do_ ,” he repeats, with more emphasis. 

“Donnie,” Leo starts, sounding heartbroken, but Donnie doesn’t let him finish his sentence.

“No, Leo. It’s...ever since Dad died we’ve literally had no...no _purpose_ , y’know? Like, we killed Shredder, now what? Do we train, do we fight, do we just...live? I’m not used to that. I haven’t been used to that since I was fifteen. Even now, I’m expecting something to go wrong. We’ve had so much fun already, more fun than I’ve ever had in my entire life, just the six of us crammed into a car, but it’s not…” he gestures helplessly at the fire. “Where’s the explosions, where’s the accidents, where’s the people that we have to _attack_?” 

“Me, too,” Raph mutters. “I feel the same. I didn’t wanna ruin the mood, but. I feel like it’s a trap. Like we shouldn’t be allowed to have this much fun.”

“And that’s so _stupid_ that we have to feel like that!” Leo exclaims, almost angrily. “It’s stupid that we had to go out and patrol, and get in some dumb fight, and then come home and patch ourselves up, and then go back out the next night and do it again. It’s stupid what they did to you, April, and I know you’re coming to grips with your powers but you were treated like a...some kind of lab experiment. And Casey, you...you could have just walked away, this entire time! We had nothing keeping you here, but you came back every night to fight with us -

“Of course I had things keeping me with you all! I had Don and April, for one,” Casey gestures towards his partners. “I had Raph, my best friend. And you and Mikey. I’d do anything for my sis and Dad, but you guys are my _family_ , and you accepted me even though I was cocky and a dumb fuckin’ vigilante with everything to lose. I might not be a mutant ninja turtle, or a psychic badass kunoichi, but that was okay! I’m what society deems normal, but I’m totally chill with my life being anything but. I wouldn’t leave you guys for anything. I mean that,” he promises. 

“How could you promise something like that without the slightest notion that you might break it?” Leo murmurs disbelievingly, staring at Casey like he’d never seen him before. Casey looks at him, grinning.

“Easy. I don’t break promises. Ever. And it would never happen, anyway. Y’all are stuck with me for the rest of time."

“Oh, joy,” Mikey sighs, and it pulls a laugh out of everyone else, including Casey. Suddenly jumping up, Donnie walks towards the van, unlocking it and rummaging in the back. He comes back with an acoustic _guitar_ , and everyone else is so flabbergasted that it takes them a beat to speak.

“Oh, y’all were up on me because of the tent that’s literally saved our lives, like, twice so far, but Donnie can bring a _guitar_ ,” Casey deadpans as Donnie sits back down and starts strumming softly and fiddling with the knobs, apparently _tuning_ it.

“So that’s the thing I almost sat on,” Raph realizes. Donnie shoots a glare at him over the fire and Raph holds his hands up, admitting defeat before a fight could begin. 

“You can play?” April asks, gobsmacked, as Donnie plays a few chords. 

Donnie nods, distractedly, still strumming idly. “Saw some people play on MTV a few years back and built this myself out of wood scraps I found in the junkyard back home. Before we were New York City crime fighters I was a whole ass _musician,_ and so was he,” he continues, jabbing a thumb at Leo. 

“We are _not_ doing what I think we’re doing,” Leo groans, and all eyes turn from Donnie to his older brother. “Oh _no_. Donnie, Don. They’re looking at me.”

“Can you blame them? I’m telling them your greatest secret.” Donnie grins and looks up. “Me n’ Leo sing, too.”

“You _sing_?” Mikey gasps. “Both of you? Oh, my god.”

“I thought we weren’t telling anyone!” Leo yells in exasperation as Donnie’s grin gets even wider. 

“Come on, Leo, the mood is low. And that’s kinda my fault. Plus, I mean...if we’re going to live normally again, I want to start doing things like this. With everyone.” Donnie stops messing with the guitar. “Act like a real family.”

“I can literally never say no to you,” Leo sighs, dragging a hand down his face. “Okay, fine. You win. What song?"

“Heather by Conan Gray,” Donnie proposes with a gentle smile, aware of the appalled looks from the rest of his family. “You remember it?” 

“How could I not? We practiced for days.”

“Fair enough,” Donnie starts strumming chords to a song, low and melodious and folk-like. Leo glances at the rest of them, almost nervously, before opening his mouth and letting the words slip from his mouth like they were born too along to Donnie’s soft strumming.

_I still remember, third of December_

_Me in your sweater, you said it looked better,_

_On me, than it did you, only if you knew_

_How much I liked you, but I watch your eyes_

_As she walks by,_

_What a sight for sore eyes,_

_Brighter than a blue sky,_

_She’s got you mesmerized,_

_While I die_

Donnie joins in for the chorus, voices mixing together like they had done it thousands of times before. Raph, Mikey, Casey, and April watch, astonished and amazed, as all traces of nervousness disappear off of Leo’s face. Leo’s issues with his voice, what Shredder did to him, are minuscule to the way he sang and the confidence he carried in the soft vocals. 

_Why would you ever kiss me?_

_I’m not even half as pretty_

_You gave her your sweater,_

_It’s just polyester,_

_But you like her better,_

_Wish I were Heather_

Leo’s voice fades as Donnie takes the next verse, voice different from Leo’s but still just as gripping and hard-hitting and haunting. Donnie closes his eyes, large fingers still trailing expertly over the bridge of the guitar. All eyes are on him as he sings.

_Watch as she stands with her holding your hand,_

_Put your arm ‘round her shoulder, now I’m getting colder_

_But how could I hate her? She’s such an angel_

_But then again, kinda wish she were dead_

_As she walks by,_

_What a sight for sore eyes,_

_Brighter than a blue sky,_

_She’s got you mesmerized,_

_While I die_

Leo joins in to sing the chorus this time, and Donnie opens his eyes to look at his brother. Together, with grins on their faces, they sing.

_Why would you ever kiss me?_

_I’m not even half as pretty_

_You gave her your sweater,_

_It’s just polyester,_

_But you like her better,_

_I wish I were Heather!_

Their voices rise in volume at _Heather_ , and Donnie strums harder and takes the background vocals (“ _Ohhh_ ” _)_ as Leo continues:

_Wish I were Heather…_

_Wish I were Heather_

Finally, they join together one last time, voices becoming quieter and sadder, more confidential, like they were telling someone a huge secret.

_Why would you ever kiss me?_

_I’m not even half as pretty..._

_You gave her your sweater,_

_It’s just polyester,_

_But you like her better,_

_Wish I were -_

They cut off, stopping the song abruptly, and Donnie mimes smashing the guitar into the ground. Leo laughs and reaches forward to push his brother’s shoulder playfully, and Donnie just. He has an expression that’s rarely ever seen on Donnie’s face. “Just as good as the last time we practiced!” he crows triumphantly.

“Dude, your voice got all gravelly and sexy near the end, how’d you do that -

Donnie rolls his eyes. “Leo, you have a deeper voice than me -

“Excuse me!” April yells, cutting off Donnie’s sentence and startling the two. “Hate to break up the brotherly bromance, but _what the fuck_!” 

“Did you guys not like it?” Leo asks, face falling. April rushes to comfort him.

“Nononono _noo_ Leo I loved it! We loved it, right guys?” She turns to the rest of them when they don’t answer, rolling her eyes when she sees Mikey, Casey, and Raph staring at Leo and Donnie with literal open mouths. “They loved it. It was _gorgeous_. I’m just. What? You - and Donnie - _how_ -

“Why did you guys not _tell_ us you could do that?” Mikey suddenly squeals. “Conan Gray? And you? I’m legit in love with your singing oh my god _please_ do it again!” 

“When the fuck did you two have the _time_?” Is Raph’s only question. 

“I brought it up with Donnie because I was tired of us training being the only thing we had in common,” Leo explains. “I wanted to spend time with him outside the dojo.”

“I have this thing, like with each of them,” Donnie says, more to April and Casey. “Video games and movies with Mikey, music with Leo, and with Raph -

“I just come in and annoy him with my questions about mechanics,” Raph snarks. “We were buildin’ this new car before Dad - well, yeah.”

“Aww! Brother bonding, that’s cute!” Casey exclaims with a teasing grin. “For big, huge, mutant turtles, y’all are seriously adorable.”

“Call me adorable one more time and I _will_ break this guitar over your head. I don’t care if we’re dating.” 

_Day TWO of THREE, the beach. Oregon, 10:43AM_

  
  


“‘Sandcastle building contest!’ he says,” Raph mutters in annoyance as he shoots Mikey a nasty look from his place farther up the shore. “Fuck this shit.”

“Aw, quit complaining,” Leo says as he walks past, and Raph has to suppress the urge to trip him. “You’re just jealous cause’ Mike’s castle is better.”

“Of course it’s better! The kid’s hoarding all the fuckin’ supplies!” 

“Am not!” Mikey shouts back down the beach at him. “We’re the _same age_ Raph quit calling me ‘kid’! Also your sand castle fucking _sucks_!” 

“I’m going to kill him,” Raph decides.

“Raph, _no_.” Leo has to physically restrain Raph from doing it anyway, and Mikey’s laughter carries upwards towards the camp, where April, Casey, and Donnie remained blissfully uninvolved.

_Day TWO of THREE, the beach. Oregon, 12:10PM_

  
  


“Remember when I said I wanted lobster?” Raph asks as he rummages through the cooler for something to feed Chompy. Donnie’s gone for a walk along the beach, and Leo, Casey, and Mikey have decided to go and fucking _climb_ up one of those huge mounds of rock that jutted out into the ocean. Leaving April to watch the camp (which she was fine with, surprisingly) and Raph to do whatever.

April exhales. “How could I forget?” Then she sighs. “Raph, lobster is _expensive_ , and I don’t care if we have a shit ton of money from Leo’s stock, _gas_ is expensive too -

“Who said anything about _buying_ them?” Raph smirks as he, out of nowhere, throws four wriggling, still alive, in the flesh _lobsters_ onto the sand.

April sighs in resignation, shaking her head in disappointment. She thinks she should be shocked, but is she really? “I’m not touching those if they’re still alive. Kill them and we’ll have them for dinner.”

_Day TWO of THREE, the beach. Oregon, 12:12PM_

  
  


“Coward,” Casey taunts. Leo glares at him, then looks back down, again, at the sixty something foot drop that spread out from under their precarious places against the jagged rock cliff. _Why_ Leo had agreed to come with Casey and Mikey on this dangerous suicidal mission was beyond him. 

“I’m not jumping down,” Leo tells him flatly, because he really wasn’t, and he was firm in that decision. It was one thing in Washington, where the water was deep enough and there were no rocks to crash into and split your forehead upon. But this was a little different. “Stop looking at me like that, Casey. I’m not - 

“Fine, I will.” Mikey says, and Leo gets whiplash as he snaps his head to look at his younger brother. 

“No you will _not_ ,” Leo protests, flabbergasted. “Mikey, it’s deep, and _cold_ , and we’re higher up than we were in Washington, and there’s rocks, and you could die -

“Alright, alright, I _get_ it, _Mom_ ,” Mikey flexes his fingers against the smooth rock and curls his toes around his outcropping, looking at something over Leo’s shoulder. Before Leo could say anything further or question his new nickname (Mom??), Mikey leaps off the edge anyway.

“Oh, come _on_ ,” Leo shouts, exasperated, as he hears Casey jump off at the same time. He leans forward a little bit, just to watch them fall safely, and is relieved when they don’t instantly splatter and die. He squints down at them as they resurface, unable to catch the words but picking up the excited screaming. He rolls his eyes. Idiots. 

Fuck, now he _had_ to jump. It would be quicker, and less time consuming, plus Mike and Casey would never let him live it down if he climbed back down the way they’d come up. Groaning really loudly, promising himself mentally to never _ever_ spend time with these two idiot members of his family again, Leo braces himself for the fall and pretends his heart rate doesn’t spike dramatically as he leaps off.

_Day TWO of THREE, the beach. Oregon, 12:09AM_

  
  


Donnie mumbles to himself as he walks along the beach, lost in thought as he alternates between watching his feet sink into the warm sand or staring out into the endless expanse of water with a mystified expression. He’s never understood in books when people have said that the sky touches the water but he thinks he gets it now. It went on for forever, deep and unexplored and held so many mysteries. 

He’d read somewhere that humans have only explored maybe 10% of Earth’s oceans. That’s mind boggling to him (as someone who yearned for information) that the percentage was that small. Humans were such inquisitive creatures, even Casey was curious enough to stick his nose in places it didn’t belong.

 _Which brought us together_ , he thinks fondly, thinking of April and Casey and him and how he was still so very happy and lucky to not have only one, but both of them. He doesn’t think he’d have gotten through Splinter’s death if it hadn’t been for them and their ridiculously dumb habits of making sure he was actually going to bed and the _are you okay, don? you know you can talk to us whenever and wherever we’ll always be here we love you so much_ and he _still_ doesn’t completely know if he’ll ever deserve the amount of love they give.

He wishes he could tell them how he feels, how he adores them, wants to wake up next to them everyday for the rest of his life. He has rings in the car, three rings that he’s made himself but hasn’t worked up the nerve to give to Casey and April. They were promise rings, but -

He kicks little scuffs into the sand as he walks, making up his mind suddenly and stopping, turning and starting back down in the opposite direction, back towards camp. Maybe he’ll ask Raph what to do. Or Leo. 

As he approaches the section of beach where they’ve made camp, he suddenly hears screaming and looks towards the source, nervous. Why the hell was there screaming, this is their vacation, they’re supposed to be _safe_ -

He relaxes when he sees it's just Mikey and Casey in the water, but he narrows his eyes as a third person - probably Leo from the looks of it, materializes from literally nowhere and creates a small tidal wave as he lands. Did they. Did they all _jump_ from that huge ass rock? 

Rolling his eyes, Donnie turns and walks away from the ocean to their camp, back to where April was yelling at Raph - who was literally _killing something_. Probably some small animal. Donnie sighs. They really couldn’t have a normal day. 

_Day TWO of THREE, the beach. Oregon, 12:24PM_

  
  


“April! Can we make a fire please please please please _please_ ,” Mikey begs.

April presses a thumb to her chin, pretending to think about it. “No,” she says after three seconds of hard consideration.

“Aw come on, Red, why not?” Casey groans from his place stretched out on the sand, shivering. 

“It’s noon! Who makes a fucking fire at _noon_? No, do not say Chipmunks Chipwrecked, Mikey -

“But they built a fire in Chipmunks Chipwrecked!” Mikey pouts, pulling a snicker out of Casey. “If animated singing chipmunks can build a fire during the day why can’t we?” 

“Mikey. Go get your towel.” April huffs, glaring at Mikey until he groans loudly and mutters something about eradicating all gingers, stomping off in the direction of the tent. “I hate this fucking family,” she mutters seconds later when Mikey screams from inside the tent and runs back out with a red towel.

“I stole Raph’s towel!” Mikey squealed as Raph emerged, sprinting after Mikey down the beach and cursing. Casey howls with laughter as Mikey launches a “Suck it, Raph!” over his shoulder and throws the towel in his face. 

April sighs, opening her book to pick up where she left off - but meets Leo’s eyes instead, who had been talking with Donnie in a low voice (they’d been eyeing both her _and_ Casey during their conversation, what was up with that?) and had been the third person in the little trio to go diving into the fucking freezing _ocean_ from sixty feet up. Mikey and Casey, April had understood, but _Leo_?

“April. Can we build a fire?” Leo asks quietly, and April hits herself in the face with her own book. Two seconds of peace with these people was _literally_ impossible.

_Day TWO of THREE, the beach. Oregon, 4:01PM_

“Raph.”

“Hm?”

“There were _four_ lobsters, right?”

“Yeah?”

“Then where’s the fourth one?” Donnie asks tiredly, not knowing completely if he wanted the answer.

Raph jumps to his feet immediately. “No! _Larissa_!” he yells, running to the cooler. He leaps over April, Casey, and Leo, who were engaged in some kind of heated debate about who knows what, and they all watch Raph fly over them with deadpan expressions.

“Who the fuck is Larissa?” Mikey asks around the food he was chewing. Donnie makes a face at him. 

“Dinner, I think.”

“Raph named our food? That’s new,” Mikey observes as Raph reaches the cooler and pulls the contents out frantically. Sure enough, there were only three lobsters. 

“Okay. guys. Code aquamarine!” Mikey says, clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention. 

“What the hell is code aquamarine - just say code _red_ , you idiot -

“Code aquamarine!” Mikey repeats, louder. “Our dinner is escaping!” 

“It’s Raph’s fault! He was supposed to kill them!” April accuses, pointing at Raph dramatically.

“I _did_!” Raph exclaims. 

“Maybe it’s a _ghost_ lobster.” 

“Casey, if it’s a ghost lobster I’m personally hoping it haunts you.”

_Day TWO of THREE, the beach. Oregon, 9:07PM_

  
  


“You’ve fought well, Larissa,” Raph whispers to the cooked lobster, caressing it's hard shell softly. “You were a good enemy, and you took defeat nicely. Well done, my love.”

Donnie exchanges a slightly panicked look with April, who was sitting next to him in their places around the fire. “He’s losing it.”  
  


_Day THREE of THREE, the beach. Oregon, 4:58AM_

Leo gasps, bolting upright, hands clutching at his throat and tears streaming down his face. He exhales soundly, mouth still stretched open in a silent scream, and drops the hands from his face after scrubbing furiously at his eyes, thankful that he’d gotten control of what happened during his nightmares a long time ago. He barely ever thrashed and he never screamed after he woke up anymore. The urges _to_ scream were still there, but he couldn’t. This was their vacation, he wasn’t here to angst or worry anyone with his problems.

He rearranges himself in his sleeping bag and pulls a blanket around his shell, looking around at his sleeping family through his blurry eyes. As much as they’d argued, or fought, or ditched eachother for two months, they still curled around each other tonight like they were made too. The reality of that makes Leo smile as much as it makes him cry. His family, the most important people in his life, the ones that were at his side, protecting his weak spots no matter what - they were here. He hadn’t failed them, they were _still here_. 

He doesn’t have a purpose without them - without his brothers, egging him on and taunting him and supporting him as a leader and pulling him back from the edges of self destruction. Can’t live without April, what for her serious and confident and independent nature - was also the kindest and bravest woman Leo had ever met. Couldn’t live without Casey, who was just psychotic and _insane_ at points but was also the most supportive, reliable person Leo knew. He’d be lost if they were gone, or worse yet _left_ him alone for good.

But what if they did? Leave them, he means? He wasn’t the best leader, he’d crumbled at that after Splinter had died, he’d hurt and lashed out and what if he wasn’t enough for his family anymore? What if they all didn’t _want_ him here? What if -

“Leo?” 

They’re not as asleep as he once thought, Leo realizes with blatant horror as they _all_ sit up carefully, all five of them. It was Mikey who spoke, and before Leo could even blink Mikey continued. “Can we touch you?” he asks, clearly asking if Leo needed _them_ or needed to be left alone, and it was so respectful and _new_ but not bad at all. Surprising, yes. But -

Leo, flabbergasted, nods a bit, knowing immediately that he _needs them_ , needs their presence around him. He doesn’t know how they’re awake - maybe his jostling woke them up - or maybe they were just light sleepers after everything that’s happened to them.

Mikey pulls himself into Leo’s space, resting his head on Leo’s shoulder. Raph comes from the back, pressing his shell to Leo’s and leaning back so the back of their heads touch. Donnie takes his other side, tilting his head so it leans on top of Leo’s. April and Casey rearrange themselves so they’re in front of him, and they’ve each got one of his hands.

With his family around him, touching him from every angle, keeping him grounded, Leo cries. He felt stupid, and awkward, and weak, and he felt so bad for waking them up and ruining a nice nights sleep, but it _hurts_ and he doesn’t know why or how to explain himself or if words could even _express_ the pain he felt. “I’m sorry,” he sobs, shoulders shaking even with the collective warm from his brothers. “I’m so sorry.” 

“Shh, don’t apologize,” Donnie murmurs. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” 

“I thought you’d left,” Leo manages to get out, eyes clenched shut because if he met April’s or Casey’s gazes in the dark he’d lose it for good. “I thought you’d all leave, and - and I’d be all alone, because I failed you all, and - 

“We’re not leaving, Leo. We’re here, okay? We’re staying right here.” April squeezes his hand, extra hard as if to prove it to him. “All of us. All six of us. Right here, together.” 

“You couldn’t get rid of us if you tried, Fearless,” Raph scoffs. “We’d always come back even if we tried to leave. You’re ours, we’re yours. Forever and always, right guys?” 

“Right,” came the collective agreement from the other four, and Leo laughed weakly, not knowing how he got so lucky. They can hear the ocean in the silence of them all pressed together, calm and reassuring and _there_ , and Leo presses the memories of Shredder tearing into him, the memories of Splinter hitting the cold, wet pavement, the memories of that day in the dojo, of Mikey and Donnie walking out - he pushes those to the back of his mind. 

His family was here. They were here, they weren’t leaving. Focus on that. 

“I love you all so much,” Leo tells them, and they still because it’s _Leo_ initiating the affection. It’s usually Mikey doing it, telling them all that he loves them and them repeating the statement back. They know Leo loves them, but he’s their leader. He’s usually so composed and straightforward and obviously that wasn’t the case anymore, was it?

“Love you back, dude,” Casey grins, Leo can hear it in his voice. The others pile onto Casey’s sentence, pressing even closer to him, reminding him that he was there, he was with them, he was safe. He was okay.

He lets himself relax, sinking into the embrace of his family. 

_Day THREE of THREE, the beach. Oregon, 12:07PM_

“Picnic! A nice, normal final day at the beach!” April mutters to herself as she follows behind the rest of her family. “What could go wrong?”

She instantly regrets saying that, because every single time they’ve said something like that it usually turns out to bite them. But still, she was determined to make this a nice day for them. Leo needed it.

She hadn’t seen anyone in their circle breakdown like that in forever. She knows the brothers had a chat before they left, but they were quiet about what had happened and the events that occurred. It boggled April that they had all spent two months apart and then they sit down for a night and suddenly they’re all on a roadtrip together, but she isn’t complaining. She’s missed them all more than anything. Even if their groupchat is chaotic and she got a headache everytime one of them pulled a new antic, she meant everything she said this morning to Leo. They belonged together, there was no other way. Not anymore.

And it looked like everyone else agreed with that, too, by the way they interacted. There were no more fights, just petty arguments and squabbling. Raph was more mellow than she’d _ever_ seen in all of her years knowing him, laughing with Mikey and Casey. Donnie walked with Leo, who was quieter today, still lost in thought. Leaving April in the back, humming softly as she smiled fondly at all of them. 

She could tell, bottom line, that she’d be with them for the rest of her life. Until she turned old and gray, maybe. She’d been thinking about what they were going to do after she and Casey graduated highschool, after they moved out. She wanted, no matter what, to stay with the brothers until they were ready to move out, until they were truly done with New York. Then they’d just go. Privately April doesn’t care if Karai and Shini decide to come with, because she _does_ like them, she really does.

But it’s _always_ been her six. The four brothers and Casey. And no matter what happens in the future, she’s staying with them. 

She knows Casey feels the same, that as much as he could pack up and leave he never would. He shares something with her, this secret about their boys, about Leo and Raph and Mikey, and Donnie, their wonderful boyfriend. Casey would stay with them until he was old and gray, oh yes, there was no doubt at all. 

As much as Leo had stressed the night before, his nightmares that had turned him into a shaking, reclusive mess - his subconscious was wrong. They’d never leave him. They were his team, his family, his _everything_. April adored her boys, all five of them (Donnie and Casey a tad bit more, but hey, they _were_ her boyfriends), and she doubts that’ll ever change. 

They find a spot against some warm rocks (they have to climb up to get there, but they’ve got a nice view of the ocean) and sit together, passing out the remainder of their sub sandwiches and snacks. Tonight Mikey was making street tacos with ingredients Casey and April had found at the local grocery store a couple miles down the road, and everyone was looking forward to it. 

Right now, though, everyone was talking, teasing eachother and bantering. April falls into the conversation easily, like she always has. Like she always _will_ , she promises herself, giggling with Leo when Mikey manages to steal Donnie’s chips right out of his lap.

_Day THREE of THREE, the beach. Oregon, 11:06PM_

Oh, man, Mikey’s tacos were _awesome_! Casey loved the pizza, he’d stuffed down the lobster, but the street tacos did something else to him entirely. He’d told Mikey as much, pleased to see the beam spread across his face (but not as much when Mikey _launched_ himself to hug him, he was at least a-hundred-fifty of pure muscle _and_ their fuckin shells are sharp and they _hurt_ , he would know). It had been the chillest day out of the three, just the six of them spending time together.

Casey’s happy to see the permanent grin on Leo’s face as they spent their last night around the fire. Casey was the most mentally healthy out of the six, he knew that, they all knew that - so it jars him the most when they were down. He means every word from his first night around this fire with them, though. He was with them till the end. 

They’d managed to get a little concert out of Leo and Don, mostly Mikey and Casey begging because Casey _might_ be a little addicted to their voices - and holy shit, Donnie with a guitar? He’d be lying if that wasn’t a little hot to him, and the way he sang - 

Casey inhales, holds his breath for as long as he can, then exhales. Not the time for a gay panic. Nope.

Leo and Donnie were currently doing _Tattoos Together_ by Lauv, singing together with contagious smiles on their faces while the rest of them tried to follow along, clapping their hands to the beat and laughing because Mikey was singing with them in the wrong tone.

Raph had pretended to be mortally embarrassed to be associated with them at first, but he was clutching his chest and literally _dying_ of laughter when Mikey’s voice cracked and had actually choked on his water (April had to give him the Heimlich, which Casey totally took a picture of and _wow_ he was using that as blackmail in the future). 

All in all it was a good night, and he was ready to turn in with the others before Donnie nabbed both him and April. Leo, Mikey, and Raph make kissing noises until Donnie throws shit in their general direction, and then they’re all safely in the tent and outside of Donnie’s ‘rage zone’, as Mikey likes to call it. Donnie pauses before they leave, then runs to the car and comes back with a little pack slung around his neck. Casey swallows the questions in his throat, figuring that Donnie would tell them if he wanted too.

Casey and April follow Donnie past their dying fire and their campsite and down to the ocean, which was gently lapping at the shore. Without thinking about it, April grabs one of Donnie’s hands and Casey grabs the other, smiling at the way he doesn’t flinch at the contact at all, melts into their grip instantly. It’s silent as they walk along the beachside, but not uncomfortable at all - and before long, Donnie breaks the quiet, speaking softly but sure of himself. 

“I’ve been thinking...about us. It’s been forever since that night in the park, when we got together, and I haven’t regretted a single day. I’m so, so happy with you, both of you, y’know?” Donnie stops walking, pulling them to a stop too. Casey listens intently, feeling love curl in his stomach as Donnie continues. “I want to spend the rest of my life - with my brothers, obviously, but with you. Both of you,” he clarifies, a grin spreading across his face. “I want to wake up with both of you, everyday, after we leave New York. Wherever we end up, I want you to be there with me.”

“I know that that might seem a little rushed and scary, or maybe you don’t want to think that far into the future with...with me,” Donnie says, and there it was - that hidden insecurity (Casey wants to kiss that away, he probably will after Donnie stops talking) “But...I’ve wanted you, both. For years. And I’ve got you both. I’m lucky enough to have you both. I just...wanted to thank you. For everything. For _being_ my everything, for pulling me through what happened to Splinter, for staying and not leaving and - and so many other things I can’t even explain. I love you,” he finishes sheepishly, rubbing his neck in that awkward, cute way he always does and Casey’s _in_ _love_. 

“God, I love you too,” Casey pulls Donnie closer, closer, until their mouths are interlocked and he’s _missed_ this so much he’s missed kissing him _ughhhh_ fuck Mikey for being so weird about PDA he loves Donnie so much so so much and he’d follow him to the end of the world. As he pulls away he pulls April, who was _crying_ , closer until they were just pressed together. “We’re with you, Donnie. Wherever we go, whatever happens, we’re not separating. Ever.”

April nods furiously, tears spilling over her cheeks. “Oh, I just...I love you both. More than anything,” she stammers, leaning on her tiptoes to kiss Donnie and then Casey. “You know my answer, Donnie. You’ve known it since you caught me when I fell out of that helicopter. We’re staying together, no matter what.” 

Donnie exhales. Then he laughs, shaky and full of emotion, and the sound makes Casey’s heart flip. April grins through her tears, breathless and adorable, and Casey just suddenly wants to kiss them again, wants to be closer to them, but Donnie pulls away. “I got something - for both of you,” he says quietly, reaching into the little pack and unhooking the little clips. Casey, interested, leans forward to see what it is.

And he…

He got them rings. 

“We’re getting married?” Casey yells loud enough that _astronauts_ could probably hear, but he’s suddenly so fucking _excited_ and he can’t believe he’s standing here with them, on this abandoned beach with his significant others, and he’s so overcome with emotion he wants to melt on the spot.

“One day, yeah. These are promise rings,” Donnie explains, smiling fondly at their overjoyed expressions. “A promise ring is a type of ring that symbolizes the unique and special love and commitment between a couple. Promise rings are given as a sign of a serious relationship and to signify a commitment to be with one another in the future.”

“Donnie! They’re beautiful!” April exclaims as she leans forward to examine them better. They were made out of sterling silver and rose gold, threaded intricately together and formed an infinity symbol on the front. They were identical, all three of them - just different sizes. One for April’s small, nimble fingers, one for Casey’s wilder, weathered and calloused ones, and one for Donnie - who was literally a ninja mutant turtle with three fingers but a ring that managed to slip on just like it was made for him (because it _was_ , duh). “I love them. I love you. I love you _both_. To us,” she says, taking her ring from his outstretched palm, slipping it on her ring finger.

Casey takes his, examining it, still in awe. “This is...where did you get these things? To make this, I mean?”

“You’d be surprised what you find in a junkyard, people throw the craziest things away,” Donnie grins. “I’ve been working on them for a long time. For months, I’ve agonized over this, and - you all? Are you sure you want-...”

" _Yes_ ,” Casey and April confirm at the same time. “I can’t wait to rub it in Raph’s face that I’m gonna be a married man one day,” Casey continues, slipping his ring on his own ring finger and clenching his fist, loving it, loving April, loving Donnie, loving _them_. “I’m so happy, Don,” he says, looking back up at his boyfriend and girlfriend, taking their hands. “Thank you, for this. I’m never taking it off.”

“I love you both so much,” Donnie repeats, and Casey blinks as he sees tears well up in Donnie’s eyes. April’s still crying, too, even harder now at seeing Donnie cry, and Casey feels the emotion rise in his chest. 

“You both are so fucking sappy,” Casey grins, pretending he wasn’t _also_ being sappy, and they both scoff and grin at him. “I love you too. I really do. I love you both,” he squeezes their hands. “Can we make out now? Mikey’s not here to tell us off.” 

“We have five hours till morning,” April smirks, and Casey swallows at the implications of that sentence. “I can see a lot of things happening in five hours.”

Donnie blushes. " _O_ _utside?_ ” 

“Come _onnn_ ,” April teases. “I just wanna spend some quality time with my husbands!” 

“Oh my _God_. Fine. Fine,” Donnie’s still blushing, but he’s grinning, embarrassed and happy. Casey inwardly preens when April calls him her husband, knowing that one day he’d be able to call her his wife, and call Donnie his husband. One day, in the future, but it'd happen. “Can we at least go farther down the beach? I don’t want my brothers coming out here and seeing anything for at least _two_ of those hours.” 

“Come on then, let’s go!” Casey grins, squeezing their hands and pulling them farther away from their campsite. _Best night ever_ , he thinks, as they disappear into the darkness.  
  


_The DAY AFTER, the beach. Oregon, 8:09AM_

Mikey lugs the rest of their luggage into the van, flipping Raph off (who was in the very back seat again, stretched out with his phone) because how dare he not help them pack up? Raph sticks his tongue out and flips him off, too. Mikey giggles and turns, looking over to their campsite and beach one last time. 

Donnie, April, and Casey were all over eachother, which wasn’t anything new, but they’d announced this morning that Donnie had given them promise rings - which had only surprised Raph and Mikey. Clearly Leo was in on it, probably told Don how to handle the situation and make it all romantic n’ sappy. Mikey was over the moon for his friends and slightly older brother. They deserved happiness. 

Raph took it well, too, although he was being a little salty butthole right now for some reason. Maybe he misses Mona. Yeah, that was probably it.

“Are we all ready?” he asks Leo, who was standing near the front of the car, scrutinizing a map. “Come on, Leo, Susan’s the one driving us,” Mikey complains when Leo doesn’t answer, just pulls the map closer to his face.

“Where should we go?” Leo asks, and that stumps Mikey. He’d never really cared for where they went after Oregon, just wanting to be by the beach and with his family. But Leo was probably expecting an answer, so Mikey says the first thing he can think of.

“Um...the Golden Gate Bridge! San Fran, right? Weren’t we planning on going there before we got on that weird highway that goes by the ocean?” Mikey asks. Leo nods, contemplating. 

“Fine, San Fran it is,” Leo says, closing the map up and finally looking at Mikey. “We’re all ready?”

“I was coming to ask you that,” Mikey giggles. “Yeah, I think so. Everything’s all packed up.” 

“Cool. Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you, Mike. You’re doing okay, right? Having fun?” Leo rushes to explain his questioning. “I just mean...y’know, with Dad and everything - 

“I’m doing better,” Mikey shifts his feet, nodding. “Hurts sometimes, but it’s better. I think it’s good that we got out. I don’t miss home at all.”

“Me, either.” Leo looks like he wants to say more but the van honks and they startle, turning to glare at the perpetrator. Casey yells something at them that they can’t hear before falling back into the middle seats with Donnie and April. Clearly he wanted to get back on the road.

“Ugh, rude!” Mikey shouts at him. 

Leo laughs. “We’ll talk more in the car?” he offers. 

Mikey nods, and they get in. 

-

8:20AM

_shaggy sent a picture to the chat!_

shaggy: LMAOOODJSAID RAPH CHOKING APRIL SAVING HIM SORRY YALL THIS IS MY NEW LOCKSCREEN

chompy’s bitch: TAKE IT DOWN TAKE IT DOWN TAKE IT DOWN WHAT THE FUCK I DIDNTKNOW YOU TOOK A PCTIRUE

lol threesome: HESLFEDOPSFPSF I CANT BREATHE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiiii guess who's back!!
> 
> im sorry i keep disappearing! my birthday was yesterday (im seventeen now OFDSJKSFJSDLFSFD yeahhhhh) and ive had a hectic time w school but ill try n update more because ive missed yall and this fic so much! this is the longest (& my favorite) chapter ive written so far and im so glad that they're becoming a real family the longer this continues <3
> 
> texting story next chap yeah yeahh they have san francisco then they're going down highway one and thru az and back up to new york!! we're a week through the vacation arc of the story and when we get back to nyc it'll be christmas so don't expect anything bland to happen! shit's gonna get real
> 
> ALSO DONNIE AND LEO BEING FUCKING MUSICIANS IS SENDING ME THEY'D HAVE THE PRETTIEST FUCKING VOICES i was sitting there thinking about it because i watched the ick music video and was like?? DONNIE CAN PLAY??? THEY CAN PLAY INSTRUMERNST???r?>f HELP and then i thought...what if they SANG and now i cant stop this is my new canon.
> 
> also. april donnie casey threesome is ??? going to be engaged one day??? yeah <3
> 
> i was rereading chapter one yesterday wtf yall really let me write like that??? its so BLAND bye where the hell was the flavor
> 
> (no i do not care that i wrote the first chapter barely two months ago shut up let me live) 
> 
> OKAY SORRY I KNOW THIS IS SO FUCKING LONG BUT I MISSED THIS FIC SO MUCH YALL!! soooo idk about yall but i cant stop thinking abt the six (not sure about karai or shini coming along anymore i dont think they'd go for it?? karai seems too set on the foot yikes) going somewhere. for good. like. permanent vacation and not going back to nyc. that city is BAD news like SUPER bad news what if they just left?? im serious being in the city where their dad died could not be good for their mental health. and being in the lair?? 
> 
> maybe after i finish this story yall would want a sequel of them leaving?? (it would be in the same universe as this story obv) idk it would be far into the future april and casey would be done with school and the boys would be in their early twenties - and april casey and donnie would get MARRIED and pls so many ideas idk i cant stop thinking about it
> 
> ok im shutting up now pls tell me ur thoughts and talk to me <3


	23. tattoos together

_1:05AM_

mikeylangelo: hey

mikeylangelo: anyone awake

lol threesome: no

mikeylangelo: oh okay

_2:59AM_

mikeylangelo: HEY WAIT

mikeylangelo: HELPFSOFE DID I ACTUALLY FALL FOR THAT

lol threesome: ITS BEEN AN ENTIRE HOUR MIKEY NOO

mikeylangelo: i literally cannot stand u

fearless leader communist edition?: you guys are interrupting my conan gray kid krow album listening for THIS

fearless leader communist edition?: SHUT UP

mikeylangelo: YOU SHUT UP 

mikeylangelo: ur love made me feel like! ohh ur love made me feel like!OH ur love made me like OHH dirty dancing in the moonlight thats what ur love made me feel like OHHH ur love made me feel like OHhh ur love made me feel like OHHHHHH come n kiss me like the first time!!! thats what ur love made me feel like

lol threesome: i love it when you write out lyrics to songs no one has ever heard before

mikeylangelo: you’ve never listened to your love by little mix??

mikeylangelo: ur missing out bbq

mikeylangelo: ACTUALLY UM im gonna make a spotify playlist for us

mikeylangelo: ill brb

lol threesome: bye have fun 

ginger from hell: god we really just have the worst sleep schedules huh

shaggy: WHY ARE WE ALWAYS AWAKE AT LIKE TWO IN THE MORNING

lol threesome: i swear raph has gotten the most sleep out of all of us this entire trip 

chompy’s bitch: no im awake too

lol threesome: HEL[PFDSELPF um.. this is awkward

fearless leader communist edition?: oh are we going to have a group conversation hold on im gonna pause my music

shaggy: we’re so honored leo!! thank you for pausing your music to spend collective bonding/texting time with your family 

fearless leader communist edition?: shut UP casey

ginger from hell: i want a tattoo

ginger from hell: GUYS CAN WE GET MATCHING TATTOOS

fearless leader communist edition?: lets get tattoos togethersomething to remember if its way too soon FUCK IT WHATEVER give me shapes and letters if its not forever then at least we’ll have tattoos together

lol threesome: STOP SENDING FUCKING LYRICS IN THE CHAT WE’VE BEEN OVER THIS

lol threesome: april honey baby sweetie light of my life 

chompy’s bitch: i...im going to fucking throw up

lol threesome: i think you’re forgetting that my brothers and i are humanoid huge green ninja turtles who can’t go into public spaces to get matching tattoos

lol threesome: shut the fuck up raph im serious i will literally eat you

chompy’s bitch: ooh im so scaredddddddddd ooohhhh

chompy’s bitch: you picked up the sarcasm through the phone right

lol threesome: yes thank you for clarifying

ginger from hell: NO DONNIE THATS NOT WHAT I MEANT u could literally be the one to give us matching tattoos..like. make ur own thingy

lol threesome: true

lol threesome: what would we get though

fearless leader communist edition?: ummmmm we could get hamato symbols 

chompy’s bitch: boring

fearless leader communist edition?: i hate you

chompy’s bitch: we’re not gonna be the hamato clan forever leo i thought we made it clear in the dojo that it died with us

ginger from hell: wait. what

ginger from hell: so karai’s gonna pass the foot down right

ginger from hell: what about us?

shaggy: i thought we’ve been over this um

shaggy: we’re not staying in new york forever remember?

ginger from hell: no that’s not what i mean

ginger from hell: what happens to the clan?

fearless leader communist edition?: its what raph said 

fearless leader communist edition?: it’s going to die with us

lol threesome: that’s exciting

lol threesome: very cheery

ginger from hell: and leo...you’re...okay with that?

fearless leader communist edition?: yes actually i am

fearless leader communist edition?: the clan was already dying out anyway, dad was the only one left after karai was stolen and before we were mutated.

fearless leader communist edition?: shredder is dead + the foot is in good hands

lol threesome: um... i think everyone needs to be reminded that karai’s family but not completely trustworthy so idk about ‘good hands’, leo

mikeylangelo: hi im back what did i miss

mikeylangelo: id say karai’s trustworthy i mean. she helped april and casey save my life when my arm got mutated

mikeylangelo: but i get ur point don i dont trust anyone more than u five so

ginger from hell: ^^ yeah me too

shaggy: im still confused

shaggy: yall are NINJAS ?? like

shaggy: you’ve been training your entire life and

shaggy: going against enemies since you were fifteen

shaggy: and. you don’t care about the legacy or

shaggy: any of that other fancy shit?

ginger from hell: casey’s right 

ginger from hell: do you think splinter would have approved?

fearless leader communist edition?: i think bottom line dad would have wanted us to be happy

fearless leader communist edition?: and to be completely honest ive fought in enough wars for one lifetime

fearless leader communist edition?: im retiring

mikeylangelo: RETIRING IDMSLFSFLLL

shaggy: who are you and what have you done with leo

fearless leader communist edition?: CASEY PLEASE

lol threesome: before we left on the trip me mikey leo and raph got into a fight

lol threesome: you remember hearing about it from me and mikey right 

ginger from hell: yeah

shaggy: mhm 

mikeylangelo: if we didn’t have that fight we’d still be mad at eachother rn and we never would have come on this trip

mikeylangelo: during that fight um

mikeylangelo: i might have lost my shit

chompy’s bitch: thats an understatement

fearless leader communist edition?: you had every right to lose your shit mikey 

fearless leader communist edition?: i was out of line back there im not afraid to admit it

shaggy: what happened?

fearless leader communist edition?: i was just. So mad at everything

fearless leader communist edition?: i ended up trying to take it out on raph but mikey took our weapons away 

mikeylangelo: i was pissed because we hadn’t talked in like 2 months

mikeylangelo: and he said one word in the OLD old gc like the first gc we had and we all just came back 

fearless leader communist edition?: no but it was more than that

fearless leader communist edition?: i said some pretty horrible things 

fearless leader communist edition?: to raph mostly but i shut you down too mikey, you and donnie both

lol threesome: leo we weren’t okay

lol threesome: we still AREN’T okay what did i tell you guys in the dojo

lol threesome: you can’t expect to just bounce back from this

lol threesome: its unrealistic

chompy’s bitch: i mean we’ve done it before

lol threesome: and look how we’ve turned out because of it

lol threesome: i agree with leo. it’s better to let us die out

lol threesome: all that being ninjas have brought us is pain and death and literal trauma

lol threesome: im tired of it

fearless leader communist edition?: well 

fearless leader communist edition?: the kraang are gone

fearless leader communist edition?: no triceratons either

fearless leader communist edition?: shredder is finally dead

fearless leader communist edition?: so unless don vizioso steps up 

shaggy: or the purple dragons

mikeylangelo: HRFLKSPOEF u really think the purple dragons can beat us..Lol..

shaggy: WELL not them in particular but that hun guy

shaggy: he was hard

lol threesome: BESIDES hun

shaggy: yeahhh then the city is fine 

shaggy: i think weve said it in like. washington and oregon and probably in the gc too but i really dont care where we go anymore as long as we’re together

ginger from hell: ^^

ginger from hell: it sucked not talking for two months 

fearless leader communist edition?: no i agree we’re definitely not doing that again

fearless leader communist edition?: and we’re staying together no matter what right

fearless leader communist edition?: no ones going off in separate directions?? i mean it sounds nice in theory but if we’re going to be stuck together for the rest of our lives 

fearless leader communist edition?: i mean mikey what about renet? or leatherhead?

mikeylangelo: lmao what about them?

mikeylangelo: renet’s too busy jumping around in time to have an actual relationship

mikeylangelo: and i dont see lh like that anymore 

mikeylangelo: you should be asking raph about mona lmao he’d be the first person to split for a significant other

chompy’s bitch: not true

chompy’s bitch: i love mona i really do but she’s not even on earth

chompy’s bitch: and even if she were to come here i wouldn’t just ditch my family for her

chompy’s bitch: whats with the questioning leo why are you suddenly doubting us

fearless leader communist edition?: its just

fearless leader communist edition?: i can’t shake the feeling that you guys will leave and ill be alone

fearless leader communist edition?: like i was after dad died

fearless leader communist edition?: i know it won’t happen i know it’s my mind playing tricks on me its just

fearless leader communist edition?: im scared

fearless leader communist edition?: without you guys i dont have anything to live for

ginger from hell: leo we’re not leaving 

ginger from hell: i dont care how many times we have to tell you that until you believe it

shaggy: leo you act like we’re these important people that are just getting pulled at from every direction because they’re needed everywhere at once

shaggy: i dont even have anything planned after highschool

shaggy: i dont have a job or plans to go to college

shaggy: we all know april probably could but i cant im just not cut out for it

ginger from hell: you really think i could force myself to go to school for four more years with normal people to get a normal job? 

shaggy: yeah you’re the only one out of all of us who honestly could

shaggy: well besides dee if he wasn’t a tmnt

mikeylangelo: tf is a tmnt

shaggy: teenage mutant ninja turtle

mikeylangelo: oh

mikeylangelo: of course 

mikeylangelo: pls continue

ginger from hell: i think maybe id go to college when i was older

ginger from hell: maybe its a MAYBE

ginger from hell: but no i wouldnt leave either i could never

fearless leader communist edition?: i know you wouldn’t

fearless leader communist edition?: and i hate seeming so weak too

lol threesome: dont apologize

lol threesome: no one ever apologize for their thoughts

lol threesome: most of the time they’re intrusive and unwanted

lol threesome: and don’t worry leo we’re not going anywhere

lol threesome: together till the end 

lol threesome: i almost said bbq what the fuck

mikeylangelo: ;)

mikeylangelo: i can see my power is spreading to u donnie

lol threesome: what

mikeylangelo: IT HAPPENED W LEO TOO

mikeylangelo: remember when he said lolzies

fearless leader communist edition?: sighs 

fearless leader communist edition?: i hate it here

mikeylangelo: <3 sure u do bae sure

mikeylangelo: OH um i finished the playlist 

ginger from hell: senddddddddddd

_mikeylangelo has sent a link to the chat!_

shaggy: why do you name your playlists so weirdly mike

shaggy: tf does ‘moral of the story’ mean?

mikeylangelo: idk it sounded mysterioufs 

mikeylangelo: mysteriifous

mikeylangelo: mysteriouus

mikeylangelo: wtf phone

lol threesome: take your time

mikeylangelo: MYSTREIOUS

mikeylangelo: MYSTERIOUS

mikeylangelo: <3 anyway

mikeylangelo: listen to it or im going to roast u in a turkey

fearless leader communist edition?: um...crickets…

lol threesome: anyway tattoos right

mikeylangelo: GRR i want one but NEEDLES >>:(

ginger from hell: awh mikey u dont have too it was an idea pls

mikeylangelo: I WILL FACE MY FEAR SO WE CAN GET MATCHING TATTOOS :-)

ginger from hell: :,)

chompy’s bitch: stop using emoticons ill lose my shit

ginger from hell: ;)

mikeylangelo: :,

chompy’s bitch: .

chompy’s bitch: yall want to die tonight…

lol threesome: STOP GETTING OFF TRACK MY GOD

lol threesome: is everyone okay with tattoos then. 

shaggy: YES

ginger from hell: !! yes

chompy’s bitch: im okay with it ONLY IF . we get something cool. im not putting some my little pony shit on my body forever

mikeylangelo: damn it

chompy’s bitch: mikey were you saying something? 

mikeylangelo: UMMMMMMMMM nope im fine w tattoos tho kinda scared lolzies

fearless leader communist edition?: im fine with it too! they need to be small though

mikeylangelo: ^^ rly small preferably :(

lol threesome: okay yeah when we get back we can figure out the sizes what are we getting though

mikeylangelo: a word. or a symbol?? 

mikeylangelo: actually. no 

mikeylangelo: leo was right

fearless leader communist edition?: i was? 

fearless leader communist edition?: i mean of course i was... rolls eyes

fearless leader communist edition?: what was i right about though

mikeylangelo: LISTEN raph i know you didn’t like it but we SHOULD get the hamato crest

mikeylangelo: not because it’s what we will be in the future or because we’re the last members

mikeylangelo: but its what we WERE and what we are NOW and what brought us together in the first place

mikeylangelo: like april is a member because she became a kunoichi but casey technically isn’t part of the clan like she is

mikeylangelo: even though he IS a part of us yknow what i mean

mikeylangelo: i think it would be cool to have something that like. represents this stage in our lives. like yes we were ninjas yes we used to beat shit up for a living yes we got a ton of scars and trauma and we survived it and moved on but

mikeylangelo: it was a PART of us yknow like the hamato clan WAS us for years and we will die with it

mikeylangelo: am i making any sense u guys are just reading my messages um...awkward silence

fearless leader communist edition?: all hands up for mikey as president

mikeylangelo: HELFPESFKOESPF

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if u wanna listen to mikey's playlist i actually made one:)
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/user/gjkkjt4u429s55qiq3n05we3d/playlist/1PMoZZPnFZYInJC3kANCme?si=G-t83-wGT8-Hx7SkoqptJA
> 
> these kids r always more emotional during the night hm? :(
> 
> i went back thru the entire fic and updated/fixed some of the spelling mistakes and errors ugh i feel proud!! omg happy two months of this fic ill remind yall next chapter too because wtf PARTY TIME
> 
> im updating the summary for this fic too i feel like it's..too misleading


	24. and for the first time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i know this probably should have been a written chapter but i don't think donnie's the best at venting through talking so texting chapter it is <3
> 
> ALSO SORRY ITS SO SHORT UM. rip

mikeylangelo: and now i see the things that i try to hide…

mikeylangelo: and now i see the things that bring me to life...

mikeylangelo: boomBOOMBOOM

mikeylangelo: and FOR THE

mikeylangelo: FIRST TIME

mikeylangelo: I DONT MIND

mikeylangelo: that u found somebody elseeee

mikeylangelo: and for the first time

mikeylangelo: im totally fine

mikeylangelo: being by myselffff

mikeylangelo: AND. FOR. THE!!!

mikeylangelo: FIRST TIME

mikeylangelo: I DONT MIND

mikeylangelo: that u found somebody elsee

mikeylangelo: and for the first time

mikeylangelo: im totally fine

mikeylangelo: being by myself..

fearless leader communist edition?: IS THAT RUTH B….

mikeylangelo: YES IT IS !!!!! :D

ginger from hell: whats that song called it sounds like it goes hard

mikeylangelo: OH IT TOTALLY DOES

mikeylangelo: first time by ruth b listen to it

mikeylangelo: i added it to the playlist it reminds me of us

lol threesome: i thought we’d agreed to stop sending song lyrics to the chat

mikeylangelo: literally no one agreed with u but ok

lol threesome: .

fearless leader communist edition?: i feel like this chat is becoming a place where we just share our music with each other

mikeylangelo: AS IT SHOULD BE!! 

mikeylangelo: there is so much cool music out there omg

mikeylangelo: spotify is a goldmine

mikeylangelo: like i could go from eminem to beyonce to khalid to prince to queen like there is just so much

fearless leader communist edition?: ive missed listening to music we should do it more

lol threesome: ive missed getting a good nights sleep we should do it more

mikeylangelo: donnie why are you so grumpy go back to bed

mikeylangelo: susan says we’ll be in the car for two hours before we get to san fran so why are you not using this time to catch up on sleep

mikeylangelo: CASEY AND RAPH ARE LITERALLY DEAD TO THE WORLD this is new caseys literally always awake

fearless leader communist edition?: i love how you left raph out of that 

lol threesome: i cant go back to sleep 

ginger from hell: why

lol threesome: nightmare about dad

mikeylangelo: oh no :(( dee

fearless leader communist edition?: what was it about? if you feel up to talking about it

lol threesome: it made no sense

lol threesome: basically me from right now went back in time to warn everyone about what would happen but i never got there in time

lol threesome: so i had to watch it happen again

lol threesome: it just. fuck 

lol threesome: im sad but im still mad that he just. he didn’t say goodbye and that’s what hurts the most

lol threesome: i miss him?

lol threesome: but sometimes i feel relieved that he’s dead

lol threesome: does that make me a monster

fearless leader communist edition?: no of course not

lol threesome: but he was. our sensei. isn’t it bad to say things like that

fearless leader communist edition?: the fact that you said sensei instead of father should answer your question, don

fearless leader communist edition?: i miss him too. a lot of the time i have really really good thoughts of him. i promise

fearless leader communist edition?: but ever since he’s died i’ve just...been angry. WITH him. for leaving us alone

lol threesome: EXACTLY like what the fuck im tired of everyone talking about him like he was so innocent

lol threesome: from what you told us leo. about what he said before he died

lol threesome: he fucking knew he was going to die

lol threesome: he never. bothered to tell us. never bothered to warn us. never. 

lol threesome: he let us GO up there. night after night. and we’d come down with new injuries and id patch you all up

lol threesome: and we’d go back up there the next night and just do it again. rinse and repeat. he didn’t bother us, didn’t ask us how we were, it was just criticism, day in and day out. 

lol threesome: remember when he grounded us for almost getting seen by humans.. what were we even doing that night anyway? putting up with another fucking monstrosity, protecting that stupid city without so much as a THANK YOU, for years and fucking years and 

lol threesome: we became the way we are BECAUSE of him. BECAUSE he decided, that from a young age, that we’d be ninjas. that WE would be the ones to take the clan. he’d decided our entire futures before we could even fucking WALK. 

lol threesome: no because FUCK him. seriously. FUCK him. how dare he die and make me feel bad when he’s forced us to go against his stupid asshole buddy shredder for years!! YEARS. they couldn’t just talk it out?? no?? that was too hard?? hell, maybe they could have done a polyamourous thing, like me and april and casey? fuck, i dont care, ANYTHING besides fucking forcing your fifteen year old kids to fight your battles for you

lol threesome: fuck him

lol threesome: FUCK him. im so tired of all of it

ginger from hell: donnie..

mikeylangelo: dee :((

lol threesome: i just. miss him 

lol threesome: so much

lol threesome: and i hate him

lol threesome: i just want

fearless leader communist edition?: i know 

lol threesome: i wish we never became ninjas. i really wish that. more than anything. i hate this and i hate us and everything we’ve fought for and what we stand for and that city i hate that city so much i hate the lair and i just. god im so fucking tired

lol threesome: im sorry i know we never use this to vent and its supposed to be happy all the time im just. so exhausted i swear even when we’re on vacation we can never ever fucking escape

mikeylangelo: quit apologizing 

mikeylangelo: seriously

mikeylangelo: how long have you been harboring that?

lol threesome: so long. a lot of that’s been there since before he died

lol threesome: im just so angry i wanna punch something

lol threesome: and maybe cry

ginger from hell: do you wanna pull over

lol threesome: yeah 

fearless leader communist edition?: okay

_Last seen by lol threesome, ginger from hell, and mikeylangelo at 5:06 am_

-

lol threesome: hey

lol threesome: thanks

lol threesome: im gonna put down the phone in a minute but. ive never been the best at words so just

lol threesome: thank you for listening and not trying to cheer me up

lol threesome: that sounds bad fuck

lol threesome: i mean. thanks for letting me talk. and get that all off my chest

ginger from hell: i love you

ginger from hell: so much

ginger from hell: we all do

mikeylangelo: YEAH we love you deedee

mikeylangelo: do u like ur new nickname btw i just made it up three seconds ago

lol threesome: . i feel like if i said i didnt like it you’d ignore me

mikeylangelo: well if u genuinely dont like being called deedee..

lol threesome: im sighing so hard right now

mikeylangelo: its literally dead silent in the car

mikeylangelo: but yeah anyway lol we’re always here for you 

mikeylangelo: ALL of us

fearless leader communist edition?: and stop apologizing for having feelings

fearless leader communist edition?: if i can’t apologize YOU certainly can’t

lol threesome: fine fine whatever

lol threesome: thank you again

lol threesome: can we just. put on some music and have an actual conversation face to face

lol threesome: i think i really need it

mikeylangelo: yeah bbq ofc anything for u deedee ily <3 biggest deedee stan deedee forever #donatellosupremacy #donnie4life 

lol threesome: MIKEY

ginger from hell: HEFPDOSGFD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOT ME PROJECTING MY SPOTIFY ADDICTION ONTO THIS FANFIC...what can i say yall if i have an amazing music taste so does the gang <3 
> 
> (no but seriously go stream the moral of the story playlist im desperate)
> 
> this fanfic has been a thing for two months…so happy two months fam…. this is enough to make a grown woman cry (im SEVENTEEN ok Shut up im almost there) yall sexy as hell thank u for the support as always
> 
> also sorry for putting donnie through the worst of it but ever since i've written that scene in the dojo im on a personal mission to fix canon and make them a proper family and that includes throwing them all into the ringer and forcing them to talk to eachother about their issues because did they do that in the show? fuck no and fuck tmnt 2012. yall best watch and support rise.
> 
> OKAY anyway now that that’s all over with i'm so excited because this part of the trip i've actually been on so im gonna use some personal experiences to write these next few chapters ;) 
> 
> next chappie is gonna be written and its gonna take place after the gang gets through san francisco because. well as someone who's been there...it's polluted. and crowded. and yes there are really cool shops in chinatown but there’s not a lot of things for four mutants, a vigilante, and a psychic kunoichi to DO. in public at least. did i mention it was crowded? 
> 
> the only SUPER cool things in san fran were the boardwalks w all the sea lions, the golden gate bridge & alcatraz (which is this maximum security prison out on an island that they’ve turned into a tourist site. yes i went to that too it was fucking SICK) but other than that...yeah they’re moving on. to HIGHWAY ONEEEE
> 
> if ur interested for background highway one is a highway that starts from san fran and ends in los angeles...and it’s right on the coast. for 600 miles. it's one of the most dangerous highways...ever. when the weather is bad usually entire sections of it are closed. there’s rocks, road hazards, etc… BASICALLY its the coolest fucking highway in the world and i can totally say that because i was on it last year. 
> 
> i might make the gang’s adventure down it a little bit harder than mine, though ;) 
> 
> see yall next time ;)))


	25. holiday road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yall:  
> me: *gone for two weeks*  
> yall:  
> me, softly: u guys wanted angst right  
> yall: um...no...  
> me: FUCK YALL *throws chapter*  
> yall:  
> me: oh um *kisses* have fun

“Okay, so, we’re checking San Francisco as the one place to never come back too, right?” Raph asks grumpily from the back of the party wagon, arms crossed as he leans against the ever growing pile of junk. “Seriously. That was fucking lame.”

Leo huffs in exasperation from the driver's seat, exchanging a not-very-subtle eye roll with April, who was currently occupying shotgun and on her second blueberry muffin. They switch lanes, and Leo, still focused on watching the scenery pass by, answers back like he was talking to a very little, very angry kid. “What part of a huge, crowded, polluted city is _boring,_ Raph?”

“Ehhh no, he’s got a point. We literally _come_ from a huge-crowded-polluted city. Compared to Washington and Oregon, San Fran was a let down,” Mikey complains, head perched on Donnie’s shoulder while he laid horizontally across the middle seats, feet thrown carelessly across Casey’s lap. Neither of the two older boys look particularly upset with Mikey being draped across them, but it doesn’t stop Casey from sending Donnie furtive glances (which Donnie readily returned), twisting the ring on his finger almost subconsciously. 

“Mike, I think you’re forgetting that we’re ninja mutant turtles. Our vacation is going to be a little different than most people,” Leo explains patiently.

“ _And_ I literally got you souvenirs,” April continues, looking completely done with this conversation already. “Quit complaining.” 

Mikey sticks his tongue out at the only girl in their group and shifts, groaning. “Deedee, your shell _hurrrrrrrrrts_ -”

“Don’t lay on my shell then, _Mik-ey_ ,” Donnie sings back, pulling lightly on his brother’s orange bandana. “Quit calling me Deedee, too. It was okay the first thousand times, but now it sounds childish.”

“Pfft, you think _that’s_ bad, try having him call you ‘Raphie’,” Raph leans forward, sending a glare to his youngest brother. “Shit’s embarrassing as fuck.”

April laughs. “Quit it, both of you! Leo’s nickname is the worst.”

That shuts them up. “Leo has a nickname?” Raph asks, tilting his head.

“Leo _is_ his nickname,” Donnie says, visibly confused.

Leo groans loudly, laying his head on the steering wheel. “Don’t tell them. Please don’t tell them.”

“It’s ‘Wee-Woo’. Y’know, like the sound an ambulance makes? Leo, Wee-Woo, same thing,” Mikey giggles, having no problem revealing more of Leo’s juicy secrets. “Shit, I haven’t called you that in forever.”

Donnie, Raph, and Casey start laughing while Leo sighs in resignation. “Don’t start now, we were doing so well, too.”

“Stay mad, asshole,” Mikey kicks the back of Leo’s seat. Leo, with his head still pressed against the wheel and his eyes still closed, twists his arm around the back of his seat and grabs Mikey’s outstretched leg in his strong grip. Mikey immediately starts yelping and wriggling around, causing both Donnie and Casey to dodge to avoid Mikey’s sprawling limbs. “Stop let _gooo_ I’m ticklish!”

“On your _ankles_?” Leo asks disbelievingly. 

“Yeah, _duh_ ,” Mikey crows, now reaching out blindly to get away from Leo. With an unspoken agreement between the two of them, Donnie and Casey both grab a part of Mikey and _push_ , letting him fall off the van seats and onto the crowded (but comfy, considering the blankets) floor. Mikey’s leg drops out of Leo’s hand and he just lays there, blinking up at the ceiling. Well, at least he’ll be quiet now. 

“You guys suck and I’m disowning you all as my family laugh out loud.”

Nope, apparently not.

-

After another bathroom break, another stop at a gas station (April forced Casey to carry the massive couple packs of gummy worms that Mikey and Raph had simultaneously suggested. She loved them, she really did, but she drew the line at her cause of death being _broken back due to Mikey and Raph’s dumb fucking obsession with gummy worms_. Seriously, one pack was at least twenty-something pounds - California was _insane_ ) they’re back on the road, finally out of the thick of the San-Fran hustle. 

Mikey had wanted to see Alcatraz - an old prison-turned-tourist-site stationed out on an island only two miles away from San Francisco, and the rest were interested after Mikey, who had apparently done research on the place, told them that it once harbored some of the most dangerous criminals _ever_. 

But the only way to get there was to take the ferry, and like Leo had said, they weren’t your average tourists. They _did_ get to see the Golden Gate Bridge, which was the main reason they’d come in the first place and was totally worth it (even if Donnie had a nerd-rage about the bridge and how it supported over 5,700 pounds).

Now they were onto their next destination, which was Los Angeles. To get there, however -

“Okay, we’re on Highway One now - 600 miles of just us, the road, the sea, and...oh, _wow_ , look, a _storm_ ,” Donnie’s deadpan attitude is out of place considering the dark gray clouds in the distance, but it gets the rest of them to still.

“A storm?” Leo drops his attention from his phone to stare out April’s window as the scenery swept by outside the van. Sure enough, far out over the ocean they were now traveling parallel Southward bound were huge, blotchy, heavy rain filled clouds - and they were coming in their direction. “Great,” Leo says, his cheery mood suddenly replaced. “Just fantastic.”

They don’t have to ask why Leo was suddenly upset, either. Storms brought nothing good. April tearing Donnie apart and haphazardly shoving him back together afterwards, losing Splinter in that terrible, dread-filled evening that had almost broken their family for good...a drizzle, hell, even rain was okay, but storms? Brought nothing back but bad memories. 

“I...am not looking forward to this,” April admits, eyes darting from the clouds to the road. “Should we just pull over and wait for it to pass?”

“That could take all night,” Raph refutes, though he looked far from pleased himself.

“Yeah, but...” Mikey leans against Donnie, gazing out the window to study the clouds. “Don says that the highway is, like, prone to getting shut down n’ closed off. There’s road issues, like it’s cracked in places, and parts of it are abandoned entirely. It’s the most dangerous highway in all of California.”

“Mike, do you have any other suggestions? This is the fastest way to LA,” Casey only glanced up at the mention of a storm, and while he looked uncomfortable, he played it off under an easygoing expression. “I mean...we could always turn off if it gets too bad -

“Let’s just go before we waste what storm-less time we have left,” Leo makes his mind up, turning towards the front again. “Susan, take us to Los Angeles. Ignore the storm.”

“Leonardo, my programming is required to remind you that with the storm approaching from the west, chances of this vehicle making it safely to Los Angeles without heavy damage are point -

“It’s a risk we’re willing to take,” Leo interrupts smoothly, the leader replacing the laid back, honest, _genuine_ version of Leo that had been slowly emerging the past week. He looks grim, readying himself to be sailing back into danger yet again, and from the silence in the car none of his family members knew what to think of the abrupt switch. “Do it, Susan.”

“Very well, Leonardo.”

Exhaling, Leo drops his tightly gripped palms from the steering wheel and looks towards the storm again, which was approaching more quickly with every minute that passed. “I _hate_ rainstorms,” he says. “I feel like I’m not the only one, either.”

“They remind me of everything bad that’s happened to us,” Mikey agrees as he switches seats with Casey, who finally starts acting like he’s interested in seeing the storm better - or he wants to be closer to Donnie. Either way, Mikey leans against the left side of the van and pulls his knees to his chest, balefully remembering every traumatic memory that he’d shoved down for so long. “It's gloomy, dark, and _loud_ , and depressing. And dangerous.”

“I think it’s beautiful,” Donnie admits quietly. “It’s….refreshing. And clean. And needed, a lot of the time. It’s…” he trails off, understanding the sense that they weren’t just talking about the storm. “But also very dangerous, I agree.”

“Here’s to hoping we don’t die,” Casey sighs against Donnie’s shoulder, and the others murmur assent, tense and almost like they were poised for action.

-

“I’ve never realized how many different nicknames y’all have!” Mikey says randomly in an attempt to get their attention off of the storm that was now pouring down around them. “If there’s one thing that Dad did right, it was to name us with super-duper long names that no one else in the _world_ has!” 

“Pfft, okay. Fine, nickname time. I can think of....at _least_ five for you,” Casey grins, crossing his arms. “Mikey counts, obviously.”

“Obviously.”

Casey counts off on his fingers. “Mike, Michael, ‘Angelo, Angel. Mickey, too, but -

“Oh, please _not_ Mickey. Y’know, when we were younger, _these_ three,” Mikey simultaneously uses his fingers to point towards his older brothers, using his middle finger for Raph. “Used to call me Mickey. Wrote it _everywhere,_ too. Used to confuse the hell out of Splinter.” 

“Mickey just used to flow better,” Raph smirks, taking his finger to jab Mikey in the back of the head, which his younger brother slaps away, pouting. “Anyway, that’s _lame_ , Casey. I can think of more nicknames.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Fuck yeah.”

“Do Donnie, then.”

“Can you guys leave me out of your weird-ass nickname competition?” Donnie glances away from the window to flash a glare at his siblings and boyfriend. 

“Aw, come on Deedee, you scared? We have the very best nicknames for you,” Mikey giggles. “Hit it, Raph.” 

“Donnie, obviously. Don, Dee, ‘Tello, _Donald_ ,” Raph pauses, noticing Donnie stiffen at that and grinning evilly. “And _Deedee_.”

“I’m fine with the first four, but _any_ of you call me Donald or Deedee I will tear you limb from limb,” Donnie promises sourly. “Don’t you dare equate me to a children’s cartoon character.”

“Aw, _come onnn_ ,” Mikey grumbles. “We could be Mickey and Donald from Mickey Mouse! Best duo _ever_.”

“Not a chance, ‘Angelo,” Donnie sings back.

“Bet you can’t do me,” Leo finally joins the conversation, while April just burrows further into her blanket, shutting them all out with an annoyed groan. Their competitiveness was _never - ending_.

“You’re almost as easy as Raph. I can only think of three,” Mikey leans back into the van cushions, closing his eyes with a satisfied smirk. “Leo, Leon, ‘Nardo. Ooh, wait. Nevermind. _Four -_

“Say ‘Wee-Woo’ and I’m throwing you out of this goddamn car.”

“I was _not_ gonna say that!” Mikey protests, but moves on. “I’d do Raph next, but I don’t wanna lose my head, so. April! I can think of three for you, girlie.”

“I’m good,” April tries, but the boys aren’t having it.

“ _Participateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee_ ,” Leo drags the word out, reaching over and poking the redhead in where he hoped her stomach was. The squeal she let out, if anything, proved him successful. 

“Fine,” April huffs, maneuvering in her seat and glaring back at them. “I hate you all, by the way.”

Mikey pokes his tongue out, grinning. “No you don’t, ‘pril. We’re too sexy for you to hate us.” 

April’s about to give a really cutthroat answer in return, but thunder rumbles loudly and everyone stills, eyes wide and darting around the van anxiously. “It’s just thunder. It’s okay,” Leo says, tries to reassure them, but when he glances out the front window the reassurances die in his throat.

The coastal road they’d been traveling on for the past two something hours was now bordered on the left side by a sheer rock wall, stretching up maybe ninety feet, trapping the van on the road between it and the ocean. As Leo watches through the furiously working windshield wipers, transfixed and horrified, lightning hits the wall up ahead and a series of heavy rocks detach, heading straight for the road - for them.

Leo, without even thinking about it, takes the wheel and disengages Susan’s control of the vehicle, turns the van _hard_ to avoid the huge mess of rock that probably would have killed them. He can hear his family’s panic as they realize the same thing, but Leo’s numb and can’t really hear them and - that was the _first_ time, after maybe three months, that they’ve been in actual danger - where Leo felt the tingling down his spine and reacted calmly, like this was just another battle -

Leo laughs then, maybe a little hysterically, because they just survived a fucking _boulder_ , why was Leo getting reminded of his battle with the Shredder -

\- he sees the car far too late as they whip around the sharp corner, and the front of the van gets impacted the worst as they collide head on with another, slightly smaller vehicle. The van goes sprawling (Leo can’t feel his feet but he thinks they’re still on the pedals?) and hits the guardrail, tumbling over and - 

\- and everything’s happening way too quickly and way too slowly and over the sound of screeching metal and screaming Leo’s detachedly able to make out a grassy field before his world goes dark.

-

“He’s not waking _up_ , he’s not - 

“Shh, shh, Mikey, it’s okay, he’ll be fine, just...let him sleep for a bit. Can you do me a favor? Make sure Raph and April are okay, but stay inside, okay? Don’t go out there.” 

“I thought he was dead, I saw all that blood and when me n’ Red dragged him out I -

“His left leg was crushed, I...don’t know if I can save it. His right is fractured and broken in at least three places, but - god, Casey, it’s his left, I -

“What about Mikey?”

“He’s got a concussion, I think. He has most of the symptoms. Dizziness, lack of coordination...keep an eye on him, okay? This stupid fucking place has nothing here to help besides straw and -

“Hey, shh. Dee, deep breaths. We’re relatively safe, just -”

“We lost the van.”

“We can always get a new one.”

“We lost _everything_ , ‘sey.”

“Don - 

“Mikey almost lost Ice Cream Kitty, isn’t that funny? She’s made out of _ice cream_ , and - _haha_ -

“Donnie, look at me. You’re in shock. Just. Look at me, okay?”

“Casey...what if he doesn’t wake up?”

“He’ll wake up, Dee. He has to.”

“Hey, guys.”

“April -

“Red.”

“How’s he doing?”

“His pulse is steady, he’s just...I don’t know if it’s another coma or not, I just. Don’t have anything to help him, I’m - god, I can’t - 

“Shh, Don…”

“The van’s still down, but we got some of the stuff out of the back. I...god, I can’t believe we _crashed_. We should have listened to Susan -

“Susan’s gone. She’s gone, just like our transportation, just like -

“Donnie…” 

“We’re stuck in the middle of _nowhere_ , and -

“Donnie, look at me. Look at me, okay? We’re all here. We’re all together. Everyone’s alive. Okay? Deep breaths, in, out. With me. No, look at me. Okay? Together.”

“I love you…”

“I love you too, Donnie. Me and Casey are right here, okay? We’re right here, and so are your brothers. No one is dying tonight.”

“It’s Casey and I.”

“See, better already! Ow, don’t _punch_ me, Red.”

“Thank you. I, okay. Can you go check on Mikey? And Raph, I...he didn’t give me a chance to check on him - 

“Hi, I'm...uh, sorry. For running off. I just needed a second."

"It's okay, Raph. Are you okay? Does anything hurt?"

"I popped my shoulder out. I think it’s dislocated.”

“And you went _outside_ without letting me set it?”

“Leo’s more important, he - how is he?”

“Stable. His legs are...another story, but he needs to be awake so he can tell us what really hurts and what’s...not working.”

“This is all my fault.”

“It’s not.”

“It is, I...insisted we go on the road, I - it’s _my fault_ …”

“Stop, Raph. It’s not, you know it isn’t. Come here. Let me set your shoulder, then I’ll punch you for thinking like that.”

“You were never one for making things sound better than they are, ‘Tello.”

“Love you too. Come on, it’ll hurt for a second, but it’ll feel better afterwards.”

“What do I do?” 

“Give me your wrist. Okay, I’m gonna pull your arm straight forward. It’ll guide the ball of your arm back to your shoulder socket. Just...bear with me. It’s okay if you scream.”

“Just do it. Don’t give me a - _hhh_ \- **_FUCK_** -

“Better?”

“...yeah.”

“Up for that punch, now?”

“I hate you.”

“...”

“Not really. Thank you, Donnie. You think I could...we could?”

“Hug?”

“Yeah, that.”

“You’re so awkward, seriously. Come here.”

 _fff, hngh, g-guys_ -

“IT’S LEO -

“Leo?”

“Leo, breathe with me, it’s okay -

“Don’t say anything, just blink if you can hear me, okay?” 

_it hurts_

“I know, I know it does, just breathe, look - everyone’s here, okay? We’re all right here.” 

_mmmikey_

“Right here, bro. Kinda bleeding everywhere, haha. Don says I have a c- _con_ -

“Concussion.” 

“Right. Whatever that is. Kinda blurry, ears ringing...oh I have the biggest headache, too...never felt better.”

_sleep_

“Not until Dee says I can, ‘nardo.”

“Lemme see your eyes...okay, he doesn’t have dilated pupils. Can you walk? Without getting dizzy?” 

“...mm yeah? I got over here all right, didn’t I?”

“Okay. You can sleep. April, can you - get him a blanket or something?”

“Of course.”

_love_

_love you_

“Love you too, Leo.”

_raph, dee, c-casey_

“Shh, Leo, don’t talk, it’s okay…”

_hurts, my legs… can’t move them_

“Both of them?”

_right hurts to move_

“Leo...listen, I have a sedative in the first aid kit I brought from the car, okay? I’m gonna give it to you, and you won’t feel anything. It’ll just be numb, and you can go back to sleep. Just...Casey, Raph, watch him while I grab it from the duffel. You brought it in from the van, right?”

“I grabbed everything I could. S’ a nightmare out there.”

“I’ll be back, then.”

_casey_

_raph_

“Always you with the leg injuries, eh, Fearless?”

“... _fuck_.”

_don’t cry_

_raph_

“I’m not fucking crying, dipshit, shut up, just. Shut up.”

_...love you_

“I’m sorry. I’m so - 

_casey..._

“Yeah, Leo?”

_slap him for me_

“OW - _fuck_ both of you, honestly -

“Can I leave for three seconds without any of you tearing into eachother? Okay, Leo, I’m gonna give you this. It’ll make the pain go away, alright?”

_okay_

“...”

“Better?”

_better_

“Get some rest. We’ll talk in the morning, and...figure out what to do. I…”

“Woah, Don, are _you_ okay?”

“I just...feel a little tired, and - 

“Okay, that’s enough. We’re all going to bed.”

“But - _but_ -

“Nope. We were all just in another traumatic event, and _this_ one we’re gonna do properly. Bedtime, egghead.” 

“...fine.”

-

Mikey blinks, tiredly, and snuggles farther into the warm blanket on the warmed, sunny floor. He’s about to go back to sleep when his eyes fly open. 

Warmed, sunny floor. He sits up so quickly it goes straight to his head and he has to swallow down the nausea. Fuck. _Fuck_.

It wasn’t a dream. Everything was real - they really - _fuck_. Mikey blinks languidly and moves slower, pulling his knees to his chest as he scans the place they’d taken shelter in the night before. It was a barn, an _abandoned_ barn, maybe a quarter of a mile away from where they’d crashed, and while they were together and _safe_ for the time being Mikey can’t fully comprehend the horror in his stomach at what happened. 

Raph had a dislocated shoulder, Mikey had a fucking _concussion_ , who _knew_ if Donnie had the same thing. Casey and April were banged up, bruises and scratches all up and down their bodies, and _Leo_ \- 

“Hey Mike, you hungry?” April asks, crouching down next to him, and Mikey startles so hard his head throbs in protest. He stares up at her, trying to formulate a response. Most of his family was already awake, moving around gingerly and shooting glances at Leo’s sleeping form worriedly. Only Casey was still asleep, but as Mikey watches Casey begins to stir, going through the same stages of grief as he realizes that everything that happened yesterday _wasn’t_ just a terrible nightmare. “Mikey?” April asks, and Mikey _can’t_ , he can’t do this.

“I’m...yeah. I’m hungry,” he says for her sake, to watch the relief slowly spread across her features, to take her offered hand and pull himself up, to stumble over to the little fire the others had made, watching the thick tendrils of smoke disappear out the patched and broken roof, little rain droplets still dripping down on the lot of them. Donnie offers him a smile and Raph scoots over, and Mikey carefully sits, leaning against Raph’s uninjured side and melting farther into him when Raph tentatively rubs his shell. Mikey offers him the blanket he’d dragged with him and Raph accepts. 

Casey joins them only a minute later, sitting to the right of Donnie while April the left, threading her fingers through Casey’s over Donnie’s lap and laying her head on his shoulder - and the five of them are now sitting in a loose semicircle on the straw covered barn floor. It’s quiet before Donnie breaks the silence, speaking quietly and he sounds _devastated_.

“Leo’s got monoplegia,” he reveals. “His… left leg. It’s paralyzed. He can’t move it.”

No one speaks, the weight of the entire situation finally starting to sink in. Raph swallows. “I...what about his other -

“His other leg is fractured in three places. It’s broken, not paralyzed. I can make a splint for him, and it’ll heal fine, once I can get back to my lab and make a proper cast. I just...don’t know what to do. He might not ever be able to walk again, and. I’m so - _fuck_ ,” Donnie says, burying his head in his arms. When he emerges from the safe confines of his olive green hands Mikey can see unshed tears clinging to his eyes. “He needs therapy. Physical therapy. We have to go home.”

“How? The van’s totaled,” Casey gestures vaguely in the direction of where their vehicle lay, ruined. 

“Karai,” Mikey says, and the others look at him. Sheepish, he continues. “I mean, she’s running the Foot now, right? She’s gotta have... transportation, or _something_ \- 

“That’s a great idea, Mike,” Raph rubs his shoulders encouragingly, and Mikey slumps, watching the relief spread across his family’s faces. “We just gotta contact her first.” 

“I’ll go and see if any of the T-Phones survived the crash,” April tries to stand, but Donnie pulls her back down immediately. “What?” 

“Eat first,” Donnie pushes more of the snacks they’d gotten from the gas station yesterday towards her, and April sighs resignedly and does as he says, stuffing a bit of the beef jerky in her mouth before offering it to Mikey. Mikey considers it for a second before taking the offered stick, taking a bite and forcing himself to swallow. He needed to keep his strength up. 

Raph’s about to say something before another noise distracts them all and it’s Leo - gasping out in pain. Everyone stands, but Raph and Donnie get to Leo first, helping him sit up. “Fuck. _Fuck_. Everything hurts,” Leo splutters, gripping Raph’s hand in a death grip. “I - fuck, can’t feel _anything_ in my left leg - 

“It’s paralyzed, Leo,” Donnie hums sadly, and they watch Leo’s eyes widen before clenching closed, exhaling deeply. 

“I _knew_ my luck would run out eventually,” Leo grits out, and it’s the most heartbreaking thing Leo’s _ever_ said and Mikey feels the tears drip off the edge of his chin, wondering for the millionth time why they couldn’t even have a _normal_ vacation. “It’s my fault. Should’ve...listened to the talking car, hm?” he gets a laugh out, though he shudders harder. “How am I gonna fight like this? How am I gonna lead?”

“We’ll figure it all out, Leo, like we always do. We aren’t going anywhere,” Casey says, stepping towards them, and Mikey and April are right behind him, trying their best not to crowd Leo but wanting him to _know_ that they were there for him. “Forever and always, right guys?” 

“Right,” the other four echo back, like they did in Oregon, and Leo deflates, laying his head on the closest person - Raph. They just sit there for a while, the six of them, a broken family in the midst of endless suffering.

-

Donnie has a concussion too, and they figured it out when he tried to go with the others to scavenge through the van and nearly collapsed trying to get there. He’d been forced to stay behind on pet-sitting duty with Mikey and Leo. ICK was all good, if a little traumatized, and Chompy now had a crack down his shell like Raph did, but at least they’re both alive.

“Leo,” Donnie says after shooing Chompy away from the gummy bears for the fourth time. “We need to talk about your leg."

“Which one?”

“Right one.”

“It’s broken.”

“I know,” Donnie says gently. “We’re gonna have to do something about this, right now. If we don’t..”

“Lemme guess,” Leo sighs, rolling his eyes at the ceiling. “It’ll stay broken, right?”

“How are you so good at this?” Donnie laughs lightly at the annoyed expression on Leo’s face. “Mikey, I’m…gonna need your help for this one.”

“Sure, Dee.” Mikey steps to his older brothers and kneels besides them. 

“It’s a closed fracture...okay, good. No swelling, discoloration...Leo, is it numb?” Donnie moves his gaze up to Leo’s face, who shakes his head immediately.

“It really, really fucking hurts. So...nope, no numbness.”

“Good. That means there’s no internal bleeding,” Donnie pats Leo’s paralyzed leg softly, standing. “I’m gonna make a splint...don’t worry, I won’t leave the barn. There’s some wood in the back,” Donnie leaves, leaving Mikey with Leo. 

“How are you doing?” Mikey asks softly, watching Leo shift uncomfortably.

“Fine, considering the circumstances,” Leo struggles with his answer, dropping his eyes from Mikey’s baby blues and fisting weakly at the straw. “Coming to terms that I might not be able to walk ever again, but. All things considered, it could have been worse.”

“Yeah, of course it could have been worse. We could have all died,” Mikey rolls his eyes. “Shut up, Leo. You’re allowed to be upset, okay? Quit pretending to be some... _god_. You promised you’d stop doing that, back in the dojo.”

“I did, didn’t I?” Leo sighs. “Sorry. How are you?”

“Fine, considering the circumstances,” Mikey mocks, cutting the attitude short at Leo’s narrowed eyes. “Just...this is a really shitty situation. And it’s hilarious, too. I was having so much fun, I knew something had to come along eventually and ruin it. I…” Mikey sniffs loudly, scrubbing at his eyes. Fuck. " _F_ _uck_. Sorry.”

“Hey, come here,” Leo’s expression softens and he tugs Mikey towards him. “For what it’s worth, this was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. Our lives are just...destined to be shitty, I guess,” he chuckles, and Mikey giggles brokenly. “We’re still together, Mike. That’s all that’s keeping me going at this point,” his voice gets softer. “I don’t care if I’m a detached head floating in the void, as long as -

“I would care if you were a detached head floating in the void,” Mikey interrupts, and Leo laughs so hard his body shakes. Mikey smiles fondly and lays his head on Leo’s shoulder. “I love you, Leo.”

“I love you too, ‘Angelo,” Leo presses a kiss to his forehead, making Mikey squirm away. Donnie’s back a minute later, looking down at the two of them affectionately. He’s got a... _thing_ in his arms, crudely fashioned out of wood.

“The fuck is that? Some kind of sex toy?” Mikey asks disbelievingly, and Leo thwacks his shoulder.

“That, my friend, is the key to my future,” Leo says, leaning back against the barn wall as Donnie kneels by his legs. “It’s gonna hurt, right?”

“Probably,” Donnie confirms.

“Just checking,” Leo sighs, suddenly looking fifty years older than he really was. “Mikey, can you -

“Of course,” Mikey takes his hand, squeezing once they’re tightly interlocked. “ _Wait_. Wait, hold on.”

Both of his brothers look at their youngest, waiting for him to continue. “The Healing Hands. Could Leo possibly -

“Oh,” they exchange glances, and Mikey realizes that they _completely_ forgot about that small, minor, very important detail. “I guess we could try that?” Donnie asks, sitting back on his folded knees. “Later, once we’re back home. I’m gonna have to splint his leg anyway, to, um, _transport_ him.” 

“Why did you say that like you were italicizing it, Don?” Leo asks, closing his eyes and squeezing Mikey’s hand. “Actually, don’t answer that. Let’s just get this over with.”

As quickly as he can, Donnie attaches the weird wood-contraction - a _splint_ , Mikey remembers - to Leo’s leg, working around Leo’s curses and quiet exhales of pain. When they’re done, finally, Leo’s leg looks strange, boxed in by wood, but at least it’ll force him to stop moving it and let it _heal_. The three of them sit there, exhausted in more ways beyond physical, as the other members of their family finally return from outside, dragging an assortment of objects behind them.

“Saved a _ton_ of shit,” Casey grins, keeping his voice down for Mikey and Donnie’s sake. He drops their tent (Mikey notices Donnie’s pinched expression at seeing it and stifles a snort), three T-Phones, Donnie’s guitar (which was all scratched up but not _completely_ ruined), a pillow, and a ratty blanket that looked like it had been dragged through the mud. “Everything else was destroyed or broken,” Casey crosses his arms as April and Raph carry in a few more bags that contained food and clothes. 

“We called Karai,” April drops a backpack on a hay loft and collapses against it, looking round at the lot of supplies with a tired, slightly miffed expression. “Had no idea she had a _private_ _jet_ , but she’s coming for us right now.” 

“Karai has a _private jet_?” Mikey repeats, stupefied. “What -

“Well, I mean. It’s hers now, since she’s the leader of the Foot. Shit’s crazy, man,” Raph drags a hand down his face, shooting concerned looks at his older and younger siblings alike. “You guys good? You all look miserable.”

“Quite the contrary, actually. Leo’s got a splint. And we might have an idea to fix his legs,” Donnie stands, legs popping from disuse. “Remember the healing hands?”

“Oh, yeah, that night was so much fun,” Casey recalls. “Poison, snakes, almost dying, getting kissed by Karai -

“Shut _up_ , you got kissed by _Karai_?” April smirks, leaning closer to her boyfriend. “What was it like?” 

“Fantastic,” Casey says dreamily, and April rolls her eyes, but her ears were now almost as red as her hair. 

“Can you guys... _not_ lust over Karai when her siblings are _right here_ ,” Raph flicks Casey’s ear and they poke their tongues out at the red-banded turtle.

“Sorry-bout-it,” they both say in such a way that told everyone that they were _not_ really sorry. “You guys all know that Donnie always comes first,” Casey makes grabby hands at their boyfriend and Donnie blanches, ducking behind Mikey. They all collectively laugh, atmosphere calm and relaxed despite all that’s happened.

“What are we gonna do with the van?” Leo asks, gingerly examining his new splint as he talked. 

“Burn it, I guess,” Donnie shrugs. “Can’t let the humans get their hands on Susan, her A.I’s years ahead of the self-driving vehicles they’ve got right now.” 

Mikey sighs sadly. “I’m gonna miss the Party Wagon.” 

“When we get back I’ll build us a better one,” Donnie promises. “Come on, let’s pack up. How long’s it gonna take for Karai to get here?”

“Approx. 6 hours,” April answers, yawning and bending, picking up some sopping wet clothes and stuffing them back into a bag. “Gives us enough time to get ready _and_ burn the van, yeah?”

“I like the way you think, Apes,” Raph leans down to help her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I CANT BREJSKTLRESFJK did i really write this or was this all a fever dream
> 
> lmfaooooooooo can't believe i paralyzed leo who was expecting that um not me
> 
> truthfully im banking on the healing hands NOT working because that would be so fucking convenient?? like they'd just avoid a major disability by it like HELLO??? tf that's not how real life works?? 
> 
> also rip susan 2020-2020 who's gonna miss her also not me 
> 
> wait shit i just realized i ruined their entire vacation um guys i am SO sorry so so sorry so so so so


	26. the hamatos are a rather sleepy bunch, aren't they?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> more of a filler lmao im so out of it 
> 
> not used to writing this much fluff.... s okay tho lol don't wait up ill torture them again soon ;) the gc isn't goin anywhere btwww it'll be back after the commercial break

Karai’s pissed, Leo can see it in her face. 

Well. He’d be pissed if he had to suffer through a six hour flight from New York to California, but…

He still falters at her expression. Figures.

“You idiots left for _barely_ a week and a half and Leo’s out of commission for the rest of his life,” Karai states bluntly, arms crossed and eyes in slits and Leo _refuses_ to wince or flinch at that. Refuses. Because she was right. With his injury he would never fight again.

A small, selfish part of Leo is rejoicing, grateful, because he’s been going on for far, far too long, fighting like he has, and being taken out of the game like this really took a weight off his shoulders.

The bigger, still-in-shock part of him was devastated. How was he supposed to run now, to leap from building to building, keep up with his brothers and April and Casey? How was he supposed to lead? The churning mess of emotions in his stomach are _not_ easy to sift through and Leo’s been struggling the past day to fully come to terms with everything. He was lucky to be alive, but...he’d lost everything, all in one night. All...or maybe just _because_ of one mistake. 

As Leo says nothing, leans further on his splint and tightens his hold on Donnie’s shoulder, struggling to keep his dignity and not look like a baby giraffe struggling to walk for the first time, Karai’s features soften, a bit of raw vulnerability poking through her usually hard, stonewall, poker-face expression. “I’m just glad you’re alright,” she sighs, reaching forward and entangling her little brother in a hug. When she pulls away she looks over the rest of them tiredly. “And the rest of you, Christ. Are you _all_ banged up? Seriously, you were gone for less than _two weeks_.”

“Yeah, yeah, missed you too, sis.” Mikey embraces the Foot Clan ruler like it was nothing. “Sweet ride. S’ for us?” he glances at the huge, towering, shiny black jet that swept across the moist field outside the barn. If any passerby in cars were to see them now...Leo shudders. They’re so exposed. They need to leave, and _soon_.

“Mhm. It’s for high ranking Foot officials on emergencies, n’ luckily I’m their leader and this was a pretty big emergency. Congrats, you managed to interrupt me in the middle of my paperwork - Shini will _kill_ me for this, you little brat,” Karai bats the side of Mikey’s face, feather-lightly, because Raph made sure to keep her updated on all their latest injuries. 

“Sorry-bout-it,” Mikey mutters, pushing her hand away and smirking up at their sister. 

“No, I really should be thanking you. Fuck paperwork,” Karai grins and tugs the ends of Mikey’s bandanna. “Let’s just go home, okay?” She glances towards their luggage, stacked as neatly as they could on the field, and throws a shout over her shoulder. Foot soldiers, Karai’s personal henchwoman, come out of the jet and grab the duffels, the tent, Donnie’s ruined guitar, ICK and Chompy, and not batting an eye at the fact that four of Karai’s new companions are mutants or the fact that their pets aren’t _normal_ pets. They disappear back up the ramp and into the plane, carrying everything with them.

Wow. Leo exchanges a glance with Donnie. “We really should get a maid.” he comments under his breath, and Donnie chuckles.

“Smells like smoke,” Karai observes and wrinkles her nose. April grins, gesturing past Karai to the barn. 

“Dragged the party wagon behind the barn and burned it,” she reveals. “Seems like we just really have a knack for burning things, yeah? Boys?”

“She’s insane, this one,” Raph says like he wasn’t _also_ insane, and Leo sighs tiredly. Good to know that they all still had their annoyingly endearing sense of humor, even in and after a traumatic event. Leo loops his arm farther round Donnie’s shell and glares back down at the ground. 

This stupid paralyzed-broken leg thing was getting old _really_ fast, and he’s only had the injury for less than a day. How long’s it been - what, fifteen, sixteen hours by now? Fuck, Leo wants to do nothing besides get inside that jet and pass out. 

The others notice Leo getting antsy alarmingly quickly, and without another word or direction from Karai they file in, Mikey and Raph followed by April and Casey as Karai takes the rear, glancing back at them from the top of the ramp before disappearing inside to give them space. Leo takes a massive breath, holding onto Donnie for dear life. It took them maybe ten minutes to get to a standing position _out here_ , twenty feet from the barn, so naturally Leo expects them to get to the top of that ramp in _maybe_ an hour. Maybe two hours. Maybe - 

“Okay, Leo. Deep breaths. We’ve got this,” Donnie says confidently, but Leo is _not_ feeling it. What had Donnie said earlier, when he was setting the splint? Maybe it was to keep _off_ his one broken foot while it healed? Groaning dramatically, Leo steps gingerly when Donnie steps, ignoring the pain that shot up his right leg. His left leg trails uselessly alongside, dragging on the soft grass and Leo still can’t feel a thing but he’s resolving to ignore that dead weight for as long as he could. Stupid car accident. Stupid car accident. _Stupid_ -

They brave the ramp like champs, Leo only cursing under his breath half a dozen times, and when they turn into the plane….

Leo can feel his mouth go slack. 

The inside of the jet is gorgeous. Padded carpet floors with large, comfortable sofas and armchairs that were completed with fluffy pillows, bolted down on both sides of the plane with a walkway straight through the middle. The room’s empty, save for Leo’s family, who are already looking like they were getting ready to take advantage of the huge pillows - to have a pillow fight or pass out on, Leo didn’t know. 

One of Karai’s shorter, petite henchwomen closes the door behind them, chirping out a quiet “Excuse me, sir’s,” and Leo and Donnie move out of her way, stepping farther into the room. Casey takes Leo’s other side and guides him to the nearest couch, helping him lay down and Leo’s leg hisses out in relief and he _already_ feels ten times better. 

“Thank you,” he murmurs to his family, squeezing their hands before letting go, and Casey’s only gone for a moment before returning with a blanket, layering Leo’s broken, battered body with it, and Mikey comes out of nowhere and helps him with one of those thick pillows, and Leo relaxes as they fuss over him. Not knowing how he got so lucky, not even caring anymore. 

“Sleep,” Donnie whispers, rubbing Leo’s shell through the blanket, and Leo closes his eyes, falling into sleep’s safe clutches immediately.

-

When Leo wakes, several hours later, he feels the rumbling of the jet through the fabric of the couch and feels relief. They were flying away from California, away from the accident, away from one of the worst experiences in Leo’s life. He pulls himself upwards, carefully, feels the blanket slip from his shoulders as he sits, pressing the back of his head against the sofa cushions and breathing out. 

The room was dim, and once Leo’s eyes adjusted he closed them. He was okay. His family was okay. They were all okay. 

“Hey, Leo,” a voice grabs his attention, and before he can open his eyes he’s being smothered with a blanket. And _another_. Then there’s people on both sides of him, snuggling underneath the blankets to join him, and Leo feels a mixture of exasperation and fondness as he recognizes the telltale voices of his family. They were probably waiting for him to wake up so they could jump him. _Assholes_. 

“You guys, seriously, there’s the entire room,” Leo sighs, but he can’t keep the grin off of his face as they all press even closer together. 

“The sofa’s big enough for the six of us,” April huffs back, somewhere to the right of him.

It’s silent for a second, all of them struggling to get comfortable, and then -

Mikey breaks the silence. “I’m gonna miss this. Being close together like we are right now. We’ve never really done it, not until we went on the vacation, but - 

\- _but_ you’re touch-starved and so are we and we’re gonna be doing this a lot more? Yes, I think so too,” Casey finishes for him, and the ends of Leo’s lips fall from the grin to a softer, more genuine smile as he listens to the banter. “Seriously, these cuddle piles are my _shit_. Everyone thinks so, even Raph.”

“What do you mean ‘even Raph?’ Shut up, Jones, I’ll have you know that I do, in fact, crave warmness and affection, even from my lame-ass family - 

“Okay, shut up, you sound like Donnie.”

“ _Hey_ -

“No, but _seriously_ , can we do them more? I feel safer with you guys here. I’m gonna hate having to sleep alone again, especially after...everything...that’s happened,” Mikey pleads, a more serious note to his request, and everyone falls silent as they remember the night before.

“Well, we were _supposed_ to get back home on the 20th,” April says slowly. “And it’s only Wednesday, the 16th. So...sleepover in Donnie’s lab everyday until this Sunday?”

“ _Yes_ -

“Oh my god, totally -

“Why does it have to be my _lab_? Couldn’t we just sleep in the. I don’t know, pit or something? Or the dojo?” Donnie asks incredulously. 

“Nope, it has to be your lab. We’re gonna do so many cool things there. Fixing Leo’s leg, recklessly getting tattoos, forcing you and Mikey to sleep because you have concussions…”

“Sounds like a great time, honestly.” 

Leo tunes out slightly as they continue to make plans, feeling sparks of affection for his family as they seem to mold together. They’re so _different_ from how they were before, wanting to be close, accepting and even _craving_ more of the bond that they’d formed during their trip. It’s only been a week and a half, and they’ve all nearly died, but Leo could feel the change. It was a great change, a _needed_ change. Because before the last week they weren’t even _talking_ to each other and Leo never wants to live like that ever again.

Maybe he wouldn’t have to.

“Um, hold on.” Mikey interrupts, reaching over to the side of the couch and pressing something, and that something _beeps_. 

With them still on it, the couch begins to slide forwards, outwards, the cushions that Leo had previously been resting the back of his head on flattening down and was now the other side of a - pullout bed? 

“Ooh, _technology._ ” Casey remarks. “Classy.”

“I’m not even going to dignify that with a response,” Donnie says blithely, tugging his side of the blankets and laying down on the queen sized _bed_ the couch had transformed into. “I hate all of you, goodnight.” 

Laughing, the others lay down beside him, pressing close together and _this_ , this feels better, feels natural, and Leo’s about to focus on drifting off again when he hears the low, melodious music coming from a T-Phone. “Sorry, um, thought we could listen to music before we sleep. Helps me relax,” April confesses sheepishly, even though she knew how much the rest of them relied on music to help them get through their hectic, crazy lives and none of them minded in the least. “Night, guys.”

“Night, April,” they whisper back, and close their eyes as the music weaves through the rumbling of the jet. 

_I stay up all night,_

_Tell myself I’m alright,_

_Baby you’re just harder_

_To see than most_

_I put the record on,_

_Wait til’ I hear_

_Our song,_

_Every night I’m dancing_

_With your ghost._

-

When Leo wakes for the second time, they’re just touching down on the nifty little airpad the Foot’s got. Leo glances out the window, sees the dark city and realizes they’re back in New York. Despite how much...fun he’s had on their vacation, a painstakingly happy feeling curls in his stomach at seeing his city. He was safe here. They knew every street and sewer tunnel. 

The lights switch on, and a voice speaks over the intercom. “We’ve just touched down in New York. Thank you for flying with us, and have an excellent night!”

“Bruh, that guy sounds like a - a r-robot,” Mikey yawns, turning over and burrowing further into Donnie’s side. “Hehe, a Kraang robot...just give me...five more minutes...kay?”

“You can sleep in the car, Mike,” April says, sitting up and arching her back, limbs cracking and popping after being curled in a sleeping position for so long. “Come on you guys, get up,” she pokes Raph, and he slaps her away, delirious and grumbling and shooting her a leery look through his squinted eyelids. Leo laughs as they have a silent stare-off, which April wins.

“Mmm, are we there yet?” Casey mumbles from beside Leo, face still pressed flatly into the pillow and Leo flicks his ear. 

“Yeah, Case, get up.”

“M’ gonna strangle you…”

“That’s the spirit,” Leo says dryly, flicking his ear again. 

“I’ve called transportation for you back down to the lair,” Karai steps into the room from the cockpit, quirking her eyebrow at their little huddle on the couch but not commenting on it. 

Leo exhales. _Thank fucking God_. “What do we say?” Leo asks the lumps under the blankets. No one moves. Exchanging an exasperated eye roll with April, Leo repeats, slightly louder: “What do we say, boys?”

“Thank you, Karai,” Casey, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey mumble with varying levels of coherency. 

Karai makes a noise that sounds suspiciously like a laugh. “Don’t mention it. You all are annoying, but I’m still human enough not to strand my only remaining family across the country. I’ll be expecting updates on your leg,” she continues, nodding to Leo, who nods back after only a beat of hesitance. “And the rest of you, obviously. Don’t pull shit like this _ever_ again, or I might not be so lenient.”

“Aww, you do care about us,” Mikey coos, sitting up carefully and flashing a sleepy grin at his oldest sibling.

“Don’t get too ahead of yourself,” Karai retorts and grins back. 

“Tell Shini hi for us, babe?” April asks, and Karai dips her head in acknowledgement. 

“Stay safe,” Karai’s voice is somehow wistful and mocking at the same time, which seemed to be something only she was capable of. “And try, really _try_ not to get into any more life-threatening situations, you think you could do that?” 

“You’ve known us since we were fifteen, sis. When’s life ever _not_ put us in a life-threatening situation?”

“It was a rhetorical question, Donatello.”

“I’m well aware.”

“I liked you better when you were asleep.”

“So did I,” Donnie tries to roll over again, but Mikey grabs his shoulder and pulls him to a sitting position. 

“Ignore him. He’s out of it cuz’ he’s got a con-concu-”

“ _Concussion_ ,” Donnie snaps, leaning his head into his palms, eyes still clenched up. Leo aches for him, he really does. He probably had a killer headache. “And you’ve got one too, Mike. So let’s just...go home…”

No one moves, staring at the purple-banded mutant with varying levels of concern for Donnie’s mental state at the moment. 

“Have I ever mentioned how much I love your couch, Karai? And...sleeping…” Donnie starts lowering back down, dragging Mikey with him, who only makes a faint noise of protest. “Y’know, when people get concussions, usually they have to...sleep…”

Leo shakes his head, but a fond smile appears on his face nevertheless. “We’ve got it from here,” Leo says to Karai, jerking his thumb from him to April, who looked absolutely miserable for being trapped into coercing the boys to their new transportation. “Thank you, again. Owe you a million.”

“Told you not to mention it,” she shrugs and turns away. “Luggage is already in the truck you’ll be taking, but Luna and Mae can’t bring it past the turnstiles. We’re short on staff tonight,” she tosses over her shoulder as she leaves the room. “Sorry.”

“S’ fine. Casey Jones can handle a few _bags_ ,” Casey manages between a few yawns. Clearly he didn’t get the memo that talking in third person was _banned_ by Donnie, but whatever. He blinks blearily at them. “Luna and Mae?” 

“Karai’s henchwomen, I’m guessing,” Leo extracts himself from the pile, scooting to the edge of the couch. He’s about to stand before a flash of pain in his non-paralyzed leg jolts him out of his stupor. He looks down, grief flashing between his dark eyes. “Fuck I...fuck. I forgot.”

“Before you go,” Karai steps back into the main room, carrying a pair of crutches between her pale, slender fingers. “Figured these would make walking easier.” 

“Thank you,” Leo repeats gratefully, taking them from her outstretched palms. “You’re a lifesaver.”

“I do try, don’t I?” Karai hums. “Seriously. Go home. Get some sleep. And keep in contact, I mean it.”

“Will do,” Leo nods, and Karai turns away again, disappearing back into the cockpit. Looking round at his family with nervous eyes, Leo makes the conscious effort to stand, leaning on his splint and gripping the crutches in his slightly sweaty palms. He makes it across the room, turning around and gazing back at the five still on the couch, grinning. “I can walk!”

Muffled congratulations come from the couch, and the grin drops into a scowl. “Come _on_ guys, get up. We can get a pizza on the way home.”

“Okay-I’m-awake-everyone-get-up-god-you-all-are-so- _lazy_ -let’s _-goooooooooo_!” Mikey sits up, detaching from Donnie so quickly it probably gives him whiplash, but he braves through, only struggling a bit to get to Leo’s side. “We're sleeping afterwards, right? After the pizza?” Mikey asks in a stage whisper, making Leo chuckle.

“Course. I’m paralyzed, not stupid,” Leo scoffs. “We’re getting a ton of sleep, but _not_ in the jet. We’ve used enough of Karai’s hospitality to last us at _least_ a year.” 

“Makes sense,” Mikey mumbles, rubbing the side of his head. “Fuck. Dizzy again.” 

“Come on, Mikey, let’s get to the truck,” Leo sheep-herds him gently to the open door as Donnie yells dramatically and rips the blanket off his body, exposing himself to the elements. 

-

Karai’s henchwomen - Mae and Luna - are nice, albeit a little grumpy for making a shortcut to a pizza store, but nice nevertheless. They drive the truck all the way through the city to Donnie’s secret entrance into the sewers, making a final stop at the front of the lair. Casey, April, and Raph handle most of the heavy lifting of their packed items, dropping everything in the pit. Leo thanks the outsiders profusely and waits until the truck disappears back down the tunnels before pushing through the turnstiles (instead of hopping over them, like he used to do). 

Their home is exactly the same as it was a week and a half ago, yet Leo feels different. Older, maybe. Maybe it’s because of his new disability, maybe it’s because of this new closeness with his family, Leo doesn’t know. He makes his way into the kitchen, leaning his crutches against the counter and sitting at the island, waiting for everyone to congregate so they could eat dinner.

Everyone appears after only a couple moments, rubbing eyes and dragging limbs and tired smiles and sleepy conversations and after joining Leo at the table they stare at the box for a minute. “This feels so fucking weird,” Raph states the obvious, “Did we accidentally ingest crack or something?” 

Donnie, sighing, flicks the top of the pizza box back and grabs a slice. “At least nothing _else_ can happen to us down here -

“Don’t finish that sentence. Don’t you dare,” Mikey flashes him a glare, knocking really loudly on the island even though the material wasn’t wood. “Remember when we were in Washington and we had that conversation on fanfiction writers - 

Cue the eye rolls. “Oh my God, _Mikey_ -

“No, no! Hear me out! Listen. Let’s just say our entire lives are like a _story_ , right? Made up and predetermined. I mean, mutant turtles sound pretty fucking unbelievable, right? Not to mention aliens, and - 

“So….you’re saying we’re being controlled by some...celestial being?” Casey mumbles around his slice.

“Yeah, kinda. Explains why we can’t ever seem to catch a fuckin’ break.”

“A God?” Donnie asks, and Mikey nods. “I mean, we’ve fought aliens and mutants. The astral plane exists, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some form of an afterlife with a being that controls - well.” Donnie rubs his head. “I’m a scientist, so. I think I’d need proof before I believed in a thing like that.”

“This conversation is becoming way too psychological. It’s 9pm. Eat your pizza,” April pushes the box towards the other boys who haven’t picked a piece up and they do as she asks. “We need a schedule, too. What are we going to do for...four days?” 

“Sleep, relax, sleep, make Leo a cast, sleep, relax, sleep, get tattoos, slee - oh! Don, remember that movie projector you were setting up in your lab? Am I getting at what we could and should be doing?” Casey asks, wiggling his eyebrows. 

“Movie projector?” Leo repeats, glancing at Donnie.

“In his lab?” Raph repeats, narrowing his eyes at Donnie.

“I _was_ gonna tell you guys! Eventually. Just...wanted to improve it, first,” Donnie shoots a glare out of the corner of his eyes at his boyfriend. 

“He’s lying. Used to sneak April and Casey in there after they started dating,” Mikey chews on his pizza, glancing at Donnie warily to see if he’d try to smack him. When Donnie only glares at him murderously Mikey continues, probably inwardly _thanking_ the concussion. “Saw them do it, even.” 

“You’ve been holding out on us, ‘Tello. Now you’re at the bottom of the favorite brother list,” Raph grumbles.

April interrupts before Donnie can offer a retort. “Now, now, boys. Dee’s not lying, he would have told you guys! It works brilliantly, anyway, he’s literally _hooked_ it up - it can play anything from Netflix to Hulu to -

“Disney plus?” Mikey asks, and Donnie nods stiffly. “Aw, _yeah_! I vote we watch either Aladdin or Princess and the Frog.”

“Who said we were watching a Disney -

“Princess and the Frog.” 

“No, _Aladdin_.”

“Frozen. It’s literally Christmas. We’ve gotta do Frozen,” Leo interrupts. Everyone vetoes _that_ idea immediately.

“ _Fuck_ no. Can we do a movie where they _don’t_ fucking sing?”

“But that’s literally _every_ goddamn Disney movie.” 

“Wreck it Ralph. Take it or leave it.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

-

Twenty minutes later they’re spread out on Donnie’s lab floor in front of the movie projector, dragged in blankets and pillows and the huge mattress that Raph swears up and down he didn’t take from Leo’s room (he took it from Donnie’s). The three most injured (Mike, Donnie, and Leo) take the mattress while the rest curl up in the remaining blankets and pillows, eyes trained on the screen as Wreck-It-Ralph’s opening credits start playing. 

“You all stink. I mean that literally,” Leo wrinkles his nose. “Go take a shower.”

“Tomorrow,” Casey burrows deeper into their little nest, entangling his hand with April’s as they both lean their heads on the mattress, closest to where Donnie lay on his stomach, playing with their hair absentmindedly and clearly struggling to stay awake. 

Mikey’s in between Leo and Donnie on the mattress, eyes closed and already down for the count. Leo protectively curls the blankets ‘round both of their shoulders and rests his head on one of his hands, dragging his other hand against Raph’s shell with his knuckles. Raph shoots him a questioning look, and Leo asks with raised eye-ridges if he was doing okay. Raph smiles and nods, no words spoken between the two of them. 

Leo remembers the night before, again, screams and sharp metal against metal and pain, so _much_ pain, and the agony of not knowing if his family was okay, if this would be the thing that would finally kill them. 

He settles into the mattress and looks up to the projector.

Things could be worse, like Mikey said back in that abandoned barn.

But they weren’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiya loves
> 
> soz this isn't THAT good im jus focusing a bit more on school n my other fics (??) the way i am writing like 3 rn ((one abt rise donnie dealing w depression one abt the brothers as mermaids n one abt the brothers as humans going to a regular school but not rly since the kraang took it over lmfao)) I KNOW EVERYONE LIKES THIS STORY since it has the most views but its the one i always have the least motivation for uhmmm
> 
> ((((((not to be the bitch that self promos but omg pls if u want more angst n stuff pls read my other fics! im prouder of my writing DFKJS)))))) 
> 
> ALSOOOO PS WHEN CASEY SAID "so u think we're being controlled by some celestial being?" I FELT SO PROUD OF MYSELF MY NAME IS LITERALLY CELESTE 
> 
> i AM the fanfiction writer, mikey babe. 
> 
> their arguing is literally based off of me and my own family LMAOOO they're horrible i can't stand them


	27. beep beep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is literally a mess but isn't this entire story all over the fucking place um help
> 
> tied up some loose ends in this chap enjoy

_fearless leader communist edition?: added mikey to the chat!_

_fearless leader communist edition?: added raph to the chat!_

_fearless leader communist edition?: added casey to the chat!_

fearless leader communist edition?: okay now that we’ve got the chat sit figured out let’s go back to bed

mikey: ayoooo

mikey: no leo wtf...we need names first

fearless leader communist edition?: first of all never say the word “ayo” to me ever again

fearless leader communist edition?: second of all. No. bed

mikey: new era new names leo you know the drill

lol threesome: lol threesome really was growing on me 

mikey: aprillll babe where u @ love

mikey: aprilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

mikey: aprillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

fearless leader communist edition?: mikey,

mikey: she isn’t in the lab where she atttttttttttttt

ginger from hell: in the kitchen :(

ginger from hell: do we have any chocolate

ginger from hell: i want a milkshake

lol threesome: april it’s 4:09

ginger from hell: I WANT A MILKSHAKKEEEEEEE

lol threesome: okay tomorrow we’ll make a milkshake i promise

lol threesome: & tattoos &

casey: hey yall 

mikey: CASEYYY

mikey: cuz i love love love making love to u

casey: OH FUCK YEAH

casey: but im stuck stuck stuck on the 202

lol threesome: wha

fearless leader communist edition?: oh no not again

mikey: wont u help me help me

casey: just wanna BEEP you tonight

mikey: BEEP BEEP

casey: AHOOHAH

ginger from hell: WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TWO DOING

mikey: baby pump pump pump cuz im in a jammmm

casey: give me a jump jump jump make it start again

lol threesome: someone kick them out

mikey: wont u help me help me

casey: just wanna BEEP you tonight

mikey: BEEP BEEP

casey: AHOOOHAHHHH

fearless leader communist edition?: what the fuck do you two listen to when we aren’t here

mikey: BOY U SO SEXAYYYYY 

mikey: just like ur cadillac 

casey: turn it up mikey TURN IT UP

casey: just come and get me

casey: cause i can’t hold it back

mikey: YEAH CASEY EXACTLY

mikey: people on the street watch us in the backseat

fearless leader communist edition?: is this a cry for help

fearless leader communist edition?: write something in capital letters if it is

mikey: OH YEAHH

fearless leader communist edition?: oh my god

mikey: BEEPBEEPAOOHAHH

casey: OH BABY BABY

ginger from hell: should we give them an exorcism or 

casey: there’s something bout your love and affection

casey: im goin crazy

mikey: the thought of u is driving me wilddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

mikey: oohoohooh  
  


casey: cause i love love lo

_lol threesome kicked casey from the chat!_

_lol threesome kicked mikey from the chat!_

lol threesome: sorry it took so long jesus christ these chat settings are so clanky i need to update them

ginger from hell: RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF CASEYS SCENTENCE DONINIE PLESSE

lol threesome: i CANT STAND THOSE ASSHOLES they are banned from the chat

fearless leader communist edition?: i wonder if they’re still texting the lyrics back and forth 

-

_mikey - casey_

mikey: they suck

casey: agreed

mikey: wanna play cup pong

casey: no every time we play you end up cheating

mikey: YOU CANT EVEN CHEAT IN CUP PONG YOU ASSHOLE

casey: THEN WHY DO YOU ALWAYS WIN

mikey: april taught me how

casey: oh

casey: d’you think she’ll teach me too

mikey: u gotta beep beep her

casey: MIKEY

mikey: er i mean she’ll beep beep u since ur the bottom right

casey: MIJKEY I TOLD YOU TO NEVER MENTION THAT AGIAFNSDFDS????

mikey: cant bae its too funny 

mikey: want me to go beg donnie to let us back in

casey: ill do it im more persuasive

mikey: because

casey: make one fucking sex joke ill smack you i dont care if you have a concussion

mikey: sad emoji

-

_casey_ _\- lol threesome_

casey: hey sexy

casey: donnie babe i can see you across the lab i know you’re seeing this 

lol threesome: don’t hey sexy me im mad at you

casey: you’re so hot when you’re mad at me

lol threesome: that entire sentence is so incredibly sad

casey: yeah okay meatstick

lol threesome: meatsti

casey: can you add me n mike back to the

lol threesome: no

casey: chat

casey: OH COME ON WHY NOT

lol threesome: YOU RUINED MIKEY’S INNOCENCE

casey: did not. 

casey: that fucker ruined his own innocence. 

casey: also im using periods so it looks like im really serious about what im saying is it working

lol threesome: i really dislike you sometimes

casey: yet we’re dating 

casey: and i have your promise ring

casey: and … im gonna be your husband in the future

lol threesome: don’t remind me

casey: aw babe don’t be like that 

casey: sorryboutitttttt

casey: listen you add me n mike back and you can get the full casey jones experience later

lol threesome: ANYTIME ANY OF YOU SAYS ‘sorryboutit’ i know you aren’t really sorry so SAVE IT

lol threesome: also are you bribing me with sex

casey: maybe

casey: is it working

lol threesome: no

casey: LIAR

casey: beep 

lol threesome: STOP

lol threesome: IT

lol threesome: if you repeat one more word of that horrid song 

casey: beep

casey: ahoohah

lol threesome: i hate you

casey: no you dontttttttttt

casey: uh also this might not be the time but i have a question

lol threesome: hm

casey: i know you don’t 

casey: um

casey: fuck

casey: never mind

lol threesome: no wait

lol threesome: what is it

casey: i think its something i need to ask both you and april

lol threesome: is everything okay

casey: i dunno actually it might just be me

-

_idiots_

casey: s my fault actually idk if its even a big deal 

ginger from hell: what

ginger from hell: what’s going on

lol threesome: i think casey has something to tell us

casey: not really its just um.

casey: something that i

casey: m not really worried about s not a big deal 

lol threesome: casey

lol threesome: are you okay?

ginger from hell: did something happen 

casey: no its just

casey: sometimes i just think that you two are

casey: better off.

casey: without me

lol threesome: casey

lol threesome: why would you

ginger from hell: why would you ever think something like that?

casey: told you it was stupid

lol threesome: it’s not stupid! nothing you’re ever feeling is stupid

casey: s just

casey: you’re both so good together 

casey: badasses, ninjas. geniuses. both of you could run miles around me with formulas 

casey: its dumb i just. wonder where i fit into it sometimes

casey: its 4am im tired this shit doesnt mean anything just forget it i start thinking and then i

lol threesome: shut up casey

lol threesome: we love you okay

lol threesome: both of us

ginger from hell: you’re just as badass as we are?? and just as intelligent when it comes to thinking on the fly when we’re in battle?? and 

lol threesome: just because you aren’t a ninja doesn’t mean you aren’t part of the clan

lol threesome: part of us

lol threesome: maybe i don’t express it all the time or like i should but i love you

lol threesome: and april loves you

lol threesome: and i have never regretted a single moment after we became a couple

lol threesome: i just. fuck 

lol threesome: didn’t know i wasn’t the only one with insecurities about our relationship

ginger from hell: no i have them too

ginger from hell: after i 

ginger from hell: .

ginger from hell: and brought you back.

ginger from hell: didn’t think i deserved either of you

casey: april you deserve the world

ginger from hell: this is really fucking sappy and kind of pathetic but

ginger from hell: you both ARE my world

lol threesome: that’s not sappy or pathetic

lol threesome: kind of cheesy but

lol threesome: endearing

lol threesome: you both are perfect 

lol threesome: i couldn’t ask for anything more

lol threesome: i don’t WANT anything more. or different. ive said it before and ill say it again

lol threesome: i literally have wanted you both for YEARS

lol threesome: wanna know how i figured out i was bi?

lol threesome: i saw you both standing together and couldn’t decide which one of you i wanted to date more

ginger from hell: i had a dream that i had to choose between the two of you and i couldn’t LMAO 

casey: i just see the two of you

casey: so intelligent

casey: and kind

casey: and hardworking and strong and 

casey: and i just. i love you both so much but sometimes it feels like im not a part of that because im just.

casey: normal

casey: i don’t have any powers i haven’t been trained since i was a kid 

casey: im a vigilante for gods sake i rush into things i get angry so easily at aspects of my life i cant control and sometimes i dont think im good enough

casey: funny how much i relate to leo

lol threesome: you’ve always been good enough for us

lol threesome: always

ginger from hell: im gonna come back to the lab and kiss those stupid insecurities right off your face pda be damned

lol threesome: mikey and raph can go suck it they’re just jealous

lol threesome: i know how hard it is to believe things when you’re feeling down like this casey but you mean everything to us

lol threesome: and you aren’t bothering us

lol threesome: ever

lol threesome: you’ve been here for us. even when you didn’t need to be

ginger from hell: so let us be here for you too?

casey: i

casey: um

casey: of courseyes

casey: thank you uh

casey: sorry i kinda

ginger from hell: don’t you dare apologize

lol threesome: don’t you DARE jones

casey: okay sor

casey: HELPPP WHY DO I KEEP DOING IT

-

_lol threesome added casey to the chat!_

_lol threesome added mikey to the chat!_

lol threesome: mikey don’t make me regret this

mikey: HEY CASEY WAS IN ON IT TOO

lol threesome: ok and

mikey: you’re just letting him off because he’s the boyfriend 

lol threesome: look at you!! figuring things out!!

mikey: >:(

mikey: stupid casey having a stupid advantage grr bark bark snarl

casey: did you just bark at me

casey: get into the fire

mikey: you first love

fearless leader communist edition?: great they’re back

chompy’s bitch: oh am i so glad i missed that whole conversation

mikey: we can start singing again if you want raphie 

ginger from hell: OR WE CAN GET NEW NAMES AND GO BACK TO SLEEP

mikey: NEW NAMESSSS

mikey: okay give me a second to come up with some

fearless leader communist edition?: NO. i am not suffering with another bad name through another arc 

lol threesome: i agree we’re choosing our own names this time

mikey: OH COME ONNN

mikey: fine

_mikey changed mikey's name to angelo_

angelo: maybe i should drop the o since im such an angel

lol threesome: pfft you are NOT an angel

angelo: whatevs mi amor

_lol threesome changed lol threesome's name to c3do_

casey: donnie.

c3do: yes…

casey: ARE YOU SERIOUSLY REFERENCING STAR WARS RIGHT NOW  
  


c3do: YES????

ginger from hell: UR SUCH A NERD

c3do: YOU GUYS LOVE ME

casey: WE DO BUT THATS BESIDES THE POINT

_casey changed casey's name to basket-case_

basket-case: haha get it

ginger from hell: original i like it

_ginger from hell changed ginger from hell's name to april 1st_

angelo: YOU GUYS ARE SO FUCKING WEIRD

april 1st: SAYS THE ONE WHOS JUST USING HIS NICKNAME

angelo: AYO  
  


angelo: SHUT THE FUCK UP YOULL ALWAYS BE GINGER FROM HELL TO ME

april 1st: THAT ERA IS OVER MIKEY JUST LET IT GO ALREADY

_fearless leader communist edition? changed fearless leader communist edition?'s name to leonardo dicaprio_

angelo: oh my jesus fuck

basket-case: LEONDARDOS DICAPRIOS?????>g THE HOT GUY FROM THE TITANIC???

ginger from hell: I USED TO THINK HIS LAST NAME WAS DICAPRISUN

basket-case: I CANT FUCKING BREATHEFKSDLJSF

leonardo dicaprio: i do not need to take this abuse 

raph: ive been waiting for this moment

_raph changed raph's name to raph is that bitch_

leonardo dicaprio: no

raph is that bitch: please

leonardo dicaprio: no

_raph is that bitch changed raph is that bitch's name to raph hates leo_

leonardo dicaprio: no

raph hates leo: I FUCKING HATE YOU

raph hates leo: titanic rip off

_leonardo dicaprio kicked raph hates leo from the chat!_

leonardo dicaprio: he’s gonna try and murder me for that one okay everyone back to bed

c3do: im so incredibly drained from this entire conversation can we sleep until like 2

leonardo dicaprio: pm or am

c3do: LEO PLEASE

leonardo dicaprio: s long as we try n fix my leg when we wake up my right one feels like its on fire

c3do: want another sedative or

c3do: i think i still have some pain medication left

leonardo dicaprio: yes please

basket-case: none of you move donnie where is it

c3do: cabinet over by the desk

c3do: second drawer

basket-case: kk besties

leonardo dicaprio: thank you casey

april 1st: also update raph’s coming back from the bathroom he’s sending me some very scary knife emojis

leonardo dicaprio: ugh fine

_leonardo dicaprio added raph hates leo to the chat!_

leonardo dicaprio: raph do NOT get mad

raph hates leo: I DONT HAVE ANY NICKNAMES BESIDES RAPH THIS IS FUCKING PATHETIC

raph hates leo: mikey say raphie i will rip your tonsils out

angelo: im not even sure i have tonsils but thank u for the warning ma cherie

basket-case: WELL ACTUALLY ‘phael’ sounds like fi-el!! that’s pretty metal :))

-

_april 1st - c3do_

april 1st: HE’S SO CUTEFTRMKSDGTJSDF

c3do: IF YOU START FREAKING OUT OVER CASEY IM GOING TO START FREAKING OUT ABOUT CASEY

april 1st: KALSFHUDJSKDFJGDS ITS THE SMILEY FACE EMOJIS THEY’RE DRIVING ME WILD

c3do: APRILLLDSDFKFS

-

raph hates leo: WAIT. i don’t actually hate that

basket-case: (*°▽°*)

-

_april 1st - c3do_

april 1st: THE NOISE I JUST LET OUT

c3do: STOPISTEGMNSLFKSGTKLAFJD 

april 1st: listen i know we do this EVERY SINGLE TIME CASEY DOES SOMETHING REMOTELY CUTE BUT ITS SO SAD 

c3do: the way our texts are just us primarily fawning over casey 

april 1st: u know damn well i do the same thing with casey whenever ur being cute

c3do: YOU DO NOT

april 1st: YES WE DO??? 

april 1st: we wrote an entire essay on donatello supremacy once

april 1st: citations and everything

c3do: CITATIONS???

c3do: usually with me and casey he makes a general statement about how hot you are and then WE START TALKING ABOUT YOUR LEGS IT LITERALLY ALWAYS GOES STRAIGHT TO THE LEGS

april 1st: i mean...i do have nice legs….

c3do: yes...yes you do

-

april 1st: we are so horny

c3do: APRUILSFKDSJD

angelo: WHAT

RAphael: WGHAT THE FUCK

april 1st: oh fuck

basket-case: APRIL????????????????

-

_idiots_

april 1st: I MEANT IT FOR HERE NOOOOO

basket-case: I CANT BREKATJJJJELFCS

c3do: OGH NY FID THEY’RE LOSING THEIR SHIT IN THE OTHER GC

april 1st: THATS LITERALLY THEIR FAULT MAYBE IF MIKEY WASNT SUCH A LITTLE MF 

april 1st: COCKBLOCKER

april 1st: *strangling orange turtle man*

basket-case: I AM LITERALLY LOSING MY MINDFSF

-

_angelo changed the groupchat name to capritello is literally always horny make it stop_

leonardo dicaprio: im going to fucking bed 

angelo: UR GOING TO FUCK THE BED WHAT

leonardo dicaprio: NO??????????????

RAphael: somehow getting the feeling that mikey’s the most horny out of all of us

angelo: HEY. hey

angelo: YOU TAKE THAT BACK

RAphael: you know im right

april 1st: SO THATS WHY UR ASS IS ALWAYS COCKBLOCKING US

angelo: RAPH DOES IT TOO??

april 1st: RAPH HAS AN EXCUSE HIS SEXY GIRLFRIEND IS UP IN SPACE

april 1st: i think mikey needs to get laid

leonardo dicaprio: can we not have this discussion at five in the morning

april 1st: AND YOU??? LEO

april 1st: WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET YOU A GIRLFRIEND 

leonardo dicaprio: about that

leonardo dicaprio: might have forgot to tell you guys uh

leonardo dicaprio: so i might. have figured a few things out about myself

leonardo dicaprio: im not straight

case-basket: bro...i don’t think any of us are

RAphael: is this the sequel to the coming out talk we had

leonardo dicaprio: i think so

RAphael: yeah uh

RAphael: not straight either 

RAphael: guess i was kinda

RAphael: ashamed feels like a really bad word to put here

angelo: NO DON’T WORRY UR TOTALLY FINE ITS UNDERSTANDABLE

angelo: s how i felt before i came out actually

angelo: im not bisexual either i think i feel more comfy with the pan label

april 1st: YES YESSSS YESSSSS MIKEY OMG JOIN ME

angelo: KISSES I LOVE U

c3do: how did you go from calling mikey a cockblocker to -

c3do: you know what our family is already fucking strange im not surprised

angelo: leo raph babes do u guys have labels or

RAphael: no i just

RAphael: don’t see why it matters personally

leonardo dicaprio: ummm i THINK bi but i agree w raph labels feel so 

leonardo dicaprio: constricting 

angelo: THATS FINE BBQ(S) WE LOVE AND SUPPORT YOU UP IN THIS BITCH

c3do: okay can we

c3do: PLEASE

c3do: fucking please

c3do: go back to bed

april 1st: yes but LEO...RAPH...MIKEY… THIS SHIT AINT OVER 

april 1st: #operationgetthehamatoslaid

basket-case: PLEASEJKSLT

leonardo dicaprio: FUCKING

leonardo dicaprio: GOODNIGHT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chappie written chappie yall know the drill we've got more important things to focus on LIKE FIXING LEO'S LEG....and tattoos... and finally getting april that milkshake...among other things
> 
> a reader texted me on tumblr n said they wanted more capritello sooooooooooo yeah hope u like this + the slight casey angst 
> 
> IF U WANNA TEXT ME OR TALK OR ANYTHING im cxlesstial on tumblr come say hi :)


	28. tattoos together (actually, this time)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> inhaling. 
> 
> do yall know. how much fucking research i did. on tattoos. 
> 
> exhaling.
> 
> DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THE AMOUNT OF TIMES I VERY NEARLY MADE DONNIE LOSE IT AND DRAW A BIG DICK INSTEAD OF THE FUCKING HAMATO SYMBOL??? no???????? okay well ill tell you anyway
> 
> AT LEAST. at least twelve times 
> 
> I HAVE WRITTEN LIKE TWENTY SOMETHING CHAPTERS OF THIS SHITTY ASS BOOK AND I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE FRUSTRATED HOW HARD IS IT TO PUT A TINY FUCKING SLICE OF A CIRCLE ON A FUCKING ARM HOW GODDAMN HARD IS IT 
> 
> yall have to be sanitized the ink has to be in PERFECT condition the area around you has to be squeaky clean like jesus fucking christ babe you're only putting something on your body for the rest of your life how complicated does this shit have to be????
> 
> i don't know whether to laugh or cry please read the object of my suffering 
> 
> and you BETTER enjoy it this is a goddamn threat

“Ape, come on, babe, wake up,” Casey says softly, and April blinks blearily a couple times before her eyes adjust to her boyfriend. “Hey, Red,” he smiles, and he’s kneeled next to her, hair freshly washed and skin still slightly damp. “Woulda let you sleep more, but Leo’s insistent on showers.”

“Mm, it’s fine. I’m not surprised, we haven’t showered in - what, seven, eight - _nine_ days? Yikes, that’s nasty, even for us,” April yawns, scanning the room and seeing only Raph and Leo talking quietly, pointing to something on Leo’s T-Phone. “M’ I the last one?”

“Don’s after you, then Mike. Gotta give them the most sleep,” Casey shrugs apologetically, and April nods, taking the hand he offered and pulling herself up, placing a kiss to his lips before stumbling over to the older Hamato brothers. Their conversation tapers off as they notice her and Casey approaching.

“They’re gonna announce the president soon,” Raph says in a form of greeting, and April sighs tiredly.

“God, I hope Biden wins.”

“Don’t we all,” Leo sighs miserably, taking the phone from Raph and scanning through what April realizes is the data. “Took them long enough, anyway.”

“At least they’re being careful about voting - voting fraud and all that shit,” April gets out around another yawn, curling her arm around her opposite elbow and stretching. “I’d do recount after recount if it meant not living under Trump for four more years.” 

“Yeah, but it’s _December_. Shit is taking _forever_. Just announce who won already,” Casey grumbles, flopping down in Donnie’s desk chair and spinning around in it. April chuckles softly as Leo rolls his eyes at him. 

“Go shower, you stink,” Raph pushes her gently towards the door and April groans, not wanting to leave the lab yet. “You won’t be missing anything, Leo’s just gonna attempt to fix his paralyzed leg with ancient magic that Dad only taught him,” Raph grins at the derisive look on April’s face, and...probably the absurdity of that sentence. “We’ll text you if anything happens, just don’t take a long ass time like you usually do.”

“Hey! _You’re_ the one who takes the longest in the shower, you dick -

“I can end this argument before it starts and say that it’s definitely Mikey,” Leo interrupts, and April and Raph nod after exchanging questioning glances, taking a temporary truce just to agree.

Finally April sighs again and leaves, throwing a tired wave over her shoulder. Slipping through the lab doors and walking through the quiet lair before reaching the station bathroom/shower, she checks in one of the cabinets, breathing out in relief at seeing the extra pair of clothes she usually stashed down here after missions untouched.

April loved stealing Casey's clothes (since they had yet to find a sweatshirt that didn’t rip over Donnie’s sharp shell) and it annoyed him to no ends so he started to return the favor. Either he hadn't found these or he was being nice to her.

Grabbing the clothes out of the cabinet and a clean towel she plops them down on the floor right in front of her stall and strips, kicking the dirty, grimy clothes away from her and glancing down at how absolutely filthy she was. Besides the two bodies of water (plus the light rain and the fucking _storm_ ) she’s been in during their vacation, she’s had no shower, she’s been caked in mud, and - oh yeah, the _car crash_ \- 

She suddenly remembers the dried blood matting her hair and the bruises caking her body under all that dirt and shudders, not waiting any longer to switch the water on and thanking her lucky stars that it was still hot, even though she’s had three teenage boys shower before her. 

April doesn’t think she’s ever appreciated showers until that moment, watching in awe as a mixture of dried sweat, blood, and dirt swirled down the drain as she scrubbed it all off. She washes her hair quickly, noting numbly that the shampoo smelled faintly like lemons. She’ll have to wait to go home to shave, but it’ll be fine. She’s sure the boys won’t mind her hairy legs when they get tattoos - 

Fuck, tattoos. She trusted Donnie with her life, but she really hoped he knew what he was doing. She’s sure she’d kill her boyfriend if he gave her a skin infection.

After another minute of enjoying the shower and the _warmness_ she switches it down and towels herself off, dressing rapidly as the air bites coldly without the protection of the searingly hot water. She throws her towel in the basket with the others before bending and grabbing her disgusting clothes off the ground. Dragging a finger through her tangles, she leaves the clothes with her other packed items and makes her way back over to the lab. She smells better, she _feels_ better, and she thinks she’s ready for the antics she and her friend group will cook up tonight. 

She opens the lab door and is greeted with a smiling Leo. “Hey, so. Guess what,” Leo says, and April, noticing that he was standing with no crutches in sight, grins.

“What’s up?”

“The Healing Hands worked! I - well, I can walk. Donnie’s gonna make me a cast for this leg, so…” Leo pauses, glancing over to his younger brother. Donnie smiles tiredly in encouragement from the desk, drawing out something on a sketchpad. “It’ll take awhile, but good news is that I’m _technically_ not paralyzed anymore. I just won’t be able to fight, or - or _run_ , but it’s okay! Honestly ‘m kinda...glad, y’know?” he lowers his voice, and April, feeling her heart break just a bit more, steps forward and hugs him. 

He hugs her back almost immediately. “It’s okay, Leo. To be upset. Or to not be. Emotions are stupid, but I’m here if you need to talk. ‘Bout anything.” She means that, and he hugs her tighter.

“Thank you,” he whispers, and when she pulls away he’s got tears in his eyes. She smiles and squeezes his hand, and he squeezes back. “Wanna help me wake Mikey up for his shower?”

-

After Mikey’s taken his shower, and they’ve all forced Donnie to take his ( _“Guys,_ _please_ , _‘ve_ _gotta figure out the dimensions for Leo’s cast!” “You fucking stink, Donnie, go shower."_ ), they have a quick breakfast with the remaining food from their trip and Casey manages to salvage some cereal from the pantry. “Who the fuck eats dry cereal?” Raph states as Casey chomped down noisily on said dry cereal. “Nevermind, forget I asked.” 

“‘Kay, everyone. Leo’s cast will be ready soon, I’ve got nearly all the materials to make it, including the fiberglass. So, let’s talk tattoos,” Donnie plops down in their six-person circle, and the others shift to make room for him. “We decided on the Hamato crest, yeah?” 

“I’ve got a reference,” Mikey says, sliding an expertly drawn Hamato symbol etched into a piece of printer paper into the circle. “I don’t get it, why’s it a pepperoni slice?”

“It’s - _Mikey,_ the symbol represents a _kikkyo_ , or a Japanese bell flower. Leo said once that it looks like a turtle with a carapace,” Donnie tilts his head, studying the crest. “Yeah, I can see it too. S’ got a head and four legs.” 

“See, it’s like this,” Mikey lays on his stomach, dragging the paper back towards him. He pulls a pen from virtually nowhere and draws a line straight down the middle, not bothering to be precise. Then he tilts the paper to the left and draws another line, then tilts it to the right and draws a third. He flips the paper and shows it to them. “Six of us, six slices of the Hamato pepperoni.”

“Mikey, it’s not a pepperoni - 

“Bruh, shut up, it totally is.”

“That’s so cool! ‘Kay, everyone call dibs on a piece,” Casey rips the paper and pen from Mikey’s hand and scrawls his name messily on the bottom left slice. Mikey, snatching the paper and pen back with a glare, scratches his own name on the bottom middle, then hands it to April afterwards with an innocent smile that no one believed. Once they’re all done with that, managing not to argue too much over who got what part, Donnie plucks the paper from Raph’s outstretched fingers and scans it. 

“Right, so. We’ve decided it’s gonna be on the leg, right? Where on the leg again?” 

“Um...the ankle?” Leo asks, looking around at all of them, and when no one confirms or denies that claim he sighs. “We’re so bad at this.” 

“Ankle sounds good!” Donnie leaps on that before anyone else can say anything, obviously determined to not get caught up in another family argument. “We’re talking about the ankle joint - the _talus_ ,” he explains, and at their confused looks, he stretches his leg out and touches his finger to where his ankle and the top of his foot met. “If we’re gonna do it here, I’m not gonna lie - it’s gonna hurt. There’s a nerve stretching right under the skin right...here.” He moves his finger slightly to the right, pressing down gently. 

“M’fine with it, problem’s Mikey. He’s got that fear of needles, remember?” 

Mikey doesn’t look abashed by that, just studies where Donnie’s placed his finger. He thinks for a bit, aware of everyone watching him. “If there’s a nerve right there, do you think we can do it somewhere else? Wrist, maybe?” 

“If everyone’s cool with that?” Donnie asks, and they all nod. “‘Okay, wrist.” Donnie extends his arm, palm upwards. “We’ve got an artery right here,” he says, taking his index finger on his other hand and holds it to the skin under his first finger, where April and Casey’s thumbs would sit. “See? You can feel your pulse. We’ve got veins that stretch down throughout the arm, but - well, it wouldn’t hurt as bad as the talus,” he admits. “‘Specially since it’s not a big tattoo.” 

“I like that better,” Mikey says, and he’s surprised when other members of his family nod too. “Woah, really?”

“Yeah, I kinda wanna show off my pepperoni slice to the public,” April giggles at the outraged noise her boyfriend makes. “We’re all good, Mike. You’re the one who’s uncomfortable with needles.”

“Thank you,” Mikey smiles gratefully. 

“ _So_ glad we’ve got all that figured out,” Donnie sighs, mahogany eyes still fluttering in exasperation at April calling the Hamato crest ‘pepperoni’. “Okay, so all we have left to do is figure out how to get the tattoos _on_ , and very conveniently I actually have everything we need.”

“Wow, I thought we’d have to do some hard and adventurous quest to get our tattoos. Y’know, to thicken the plot.” Casey says dryly. Everyone stares at him blankly. “Oh, forgive me. Forgot that our lives _aren’t_ a live-action horror movie.”

“Ha-ha, very funny.” Leo scrunches his nose up at his taller friend. “Anyway, Donnie, what the fuck. You have a tattoo gun?”

“No, Leo,” Donnie sighs again. “I have a rotary machine that I was gonna use to help me build the Shellraiser with but, surprise surprise, conveniently never used.”

“Why are we being so passive aggressive about this?”

“I think I’m lowkey surprised that we don’t have to steal anything or break into anything just to get a tattoo. Donnie here seems to have everything in his lab,” Raph smirks, crossing his arms. 

“Stop doing that.”

“Stop doing wh -

“Smirking and crossing your arms. You look like a Disney villain.”

“Oh, for the love of - focus, people. We have something that’ll work. N’ _yes_ , it’s safe,” Donnie glances around sharply at all of them, but mainly focuses on Mikey, who still looked apprehensive.

“Clean, right?” Mikey struggles for a second. “Like a shot...sanitized?”

“That’s right,” Donnie smiles. “It’ll take me less time to set up than Nardo’s cast, actually, since we have everything right in the lab.”

“Oh, goodie.” April says.

“I can’t tell if that was sarcasm or your version of dry humor.”

“I think the after-effects of the car crash are hitting me, actually,” April says. “Mind if I sit down in your chair?” 

“By all means,” Donnie gestures towards his desk chair. “I feel like I’m in a 80’s sitcom.”

“What about the ink?” Raph asks, tentative. “It’s not like - uh - printer ink, right?”

“No, of course not. Printer ink is way different than tattoo ink, Raph. It’s made out of different materials, for one. And it’s made specifically for skin while printer ink is made specifically for -

“Paper,” Leo, Raph, Mikey, April, and Casey answer, all too used to Donnie’s rambling.

Donnie blinks. “Yeah. Paper. So we’re completely fine. I’ve never done this before and I’m pretty sure I have more credentials than half the places topside. In terms of safety, of course.”

“Of course,” Mikey echos. 

“Still nervous, though,” Donnie’s not afraid to confess, suddenly sheepish.

“Oh, Dee, aren’t we all? We’re about to get our bodies marked permanently, and it’s all in your hands,” Leo sympathizes. “No pressure, though.”

Casey snickers. “Yeah, none at all.”

“Hey, if you guys wanna back out - 

“Hell _no_ we ain’t backing out! Let’s do this,” Raph cheers, cutting Donnie off. “Then we can get drunk!” 

Everyone blinks languidly at him. “Okay, first of all. Fuck _no_. That’s the worst idea you’ve ever had,” Leo chides. 

“We’ve had _way_ worse ideas than just getting drunk.”

“ _No_ one is getting drunk. Not until Mikey and Donnie’s concussions are gone,” April reminds him.

“How long’s _that_ gonna take?”

“Effects of the concussion vary depending on the person and the severity, but based on how much sleep and medication Mikey and I get they should be completely gone by Christmas Eve.” Donnie explains tiredly.

“I have to wait _eight_ days?” Raph yelps, scandalized.

“Look, we can get absolutely _hammered_ on Christmas, alright?” Leo compromises. 

Raph looks even worse than before. “I have to wait _nine_ days?”

-

They decide to finish Leo’s cast before tattoos, so Raph and April (with careful monitoring) attach the needle to the rotary mechanic that Donnie ( _conveniently_ , he reminds them) had while Donnie himself carefully fashions a cast to Leo’s leg. “Can we sign it ‘fore we get tatted?” Casey asks, and grinning, Leo tosses him a sharpie. 

After they’ve all written endearing (and inappropriate, considering Mike and Casey) messages on Leo’s cast, they’re finally ready. “Who’s going to go first?” Donnie asks, and Mikey, without even hesitating, steps forward.

They all raise eyeridges and eyebrows and Mikey rolls his eyes. “ _What?_ If I have to watch _y’all_ go first I’ll just end up wimping out. But...um, hold my hand?” Mikey adds in an undertone as Donnie situates him in a chair, palm up and arm flat across the desk. Leo nods and dutifully takes Mikey’s other hand. 

Donnie wipes Mikey’s arm down with a sanitizing wipe and presses a paper face down on his wrist, carefully maneuvering it until the middle was right where they’d decided on engraving ink into their skin. “The fuck is this? Paper-mache class?” 

“Mikey do _not_ make me laugh right now.”

“Oh, honestly, this is the dream,” Mikey’s breath hitches as April hands Donnie the ‘tattoo gun’. “Chilling with my fam, getting tats, not scared at all…”

“Is that so?” Donnie tilts Mikey’s wrist slightly, hiding a smile. 

“No,” Mikey admits.

“Cue the laugh track,” Casey drawls. 

“Hey, I’d like to see _you_ up here, Casey.”

“I’ll be up there very soon, _Mi-key_ ,” Casey leans in, smirking. 

“I hate you,” Mikey smirks back. “So, so very much.”

“I’m going to strangle you both very slowly,” Donnie promises. “No more talking, from any of you. M’ gonna do it now.” And true to his word, Donnie presses the needle to Mikey’s skin, the first blots of black ink appearing. Mikey doesn’t jump, but he squeezes his eyes shut and his grip on Leo’s hand gets even tighter. “Does it hurt?” Donnie asks breathlessly as he starts tracing the bottom middle slice of the Hamato crest into his arm.

Mikey takes a while to answer. “Feels - _weird_ \- like a toothpick is being slowly dragged through my skin. S’not as bad as I thought, though. It kinda - _itches_ \- 

“Yeah, well, you’re doing great,” April encourages softly, leaning forward to get a better look as Donnie finishes the outline, placing the needle inside the triangle and starting Mikey’s portion of the flower. “Look, you’re almost done already.”

“Don’t get too excited, I’m going over it again with a second coat,” Donnie warns and Mikey makes a tired noise. “Hey, she’s right. It’s been, what, three minutes? We’re almost done, Mike.”

“It’s starting to _hurt_ now,” Mikey complains, but sits patiently as Donnie finishes his flower and goes over it again with a fresh coat of ink. When he’s finally done, Mikey slowly detaches his sweaty palm from Leo’s and makes a fist slowly, wincing at the pain that shot down his marked arm. “Wow. I actually - _Christ_ , I actually went through with it,” Mikey says weakly, grinning as Leo rubs his shoulder. Donnie’s back seconds later, apologizing in advance before spreading antiseptic down his wrist. “ _Ow, fuck_ ,” Mikey yelps, leaning away from Donnie as tears prick his eyes. “ _Dude_.”

“I said sorry, didn’t I?” Donnie smiles apologetically and holds his hand out for the wrist. Mikey hesitantly lets Donnie take the limb and braces himself for more pain but is pleasantly surprised when all Donnie does is wrap it up in bandages. “All done, Mike. Who’s next?”

Leo takes Mikey’s place, expectantly holding his hand out for Mikey to take, and the two of them sit on the chairs, side by side, as Donnie engraves Leo’s slice (top right) into his skin (after sanitizing the needle, of course). Leo doesn’t curse at all and squeezes maybe twice, but other than that he takes it like a complete champ. April goes after Leo, and Mikey backs up so Casey could sit with her. Then they switch places, Casey surprisingly _not_ complaining every ten seconds, and then, finally, Raph sits. He’s got top left, and every piece that _wasn’t_ a middle one took less time, so Donnie’s patching Raph up in seven minutes. 

Finally he sits back, the only one still unmarked. “How am I gonna do this? I can’t tattoo _myself_ \- 

“I’ll do it,” Mikey says, cutting Donnie off. Donnie stares at him for a long moment, and Mikey smiles. “Bro, I’m not going to mess your skin up. I promise you that on my _life_. Do you trust me?” 

“...” Donnie ponders that for another long moment, then finally nods and hands Mikey the gun. “Yeah, I trust you. Go ahead, Mike.”

Mikey grabs Donnie’s piece of paper while Donnie wipes his hand down and reminds Mikey to wipe the needle down, too. Just to be completely safe. Mikey does as he says and presses the transparent paper to his wrist, leaning in and going to work. 

Donnie winces as Mikey slowly traces the ink into his body. “You - you’re doing great, Mikey,” Donnie encourages through clenched teeth, and Mikey nods, not willing to get distracted. Not over this.

Eons, maybe _millenniums_ later, Mikey heaves a sigh of relief as he pulls the mechanic away from Donnie’s slightly quivering wrist, admiring his handiwork. “Well, I didn’t mess anything up, Dee. Looks really promising.” 

Donnie glances down at his arm, gives a matching sigh of relief. “You did fantastic. You’ll - you’ll be a tattoo artist someday, I’ll help you get started.”

“Hmph, fat chance,” Mikey snorts derisively and helps him apply antiseptic and bandaging, and then they’re all sitting there, quietly, awed. 

“Did we really just do that?” Leo asks quietly. “I feel like we just crossed the threshold into adulthood. Or - _something_.”

“Did we ever actually have a childhood? We crossed that _threshold_ a long time ago, Leo,” Raph pats his shoulders sympathetically. ‘But, I mean. Technically we’re adults now. First tattoos feels like something to celebrate, am I right?”

“Raph, we’re _not_ getting drunk.”

“Oh, come _on_ , please?” 

“ _No_.”

“Hey, guess who won the election?” April, grinning, twirls her T-Phone and showcases the winner. “Guess who we’re _not_ living under for four more years?”

“Oh, _fuck_ yes, we’re definitely celebrating now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey
> 
> yay we got the fascist out of office! someone pinch me i feel like im dreaming
> 
> i wrote ANOTHER chapter after this one im so good at this seriously look at me two whole chapters in one night who was expecting that
> 
> that was sarcasm
> 
> i really think i'd be a great comedian like im just so funny?? if i ever get rich n famous ill call you guys up
> 
> (i mean you'd think after twenty eight chapters of this shit i'd get drafted by like. disney or some shit i mean come ON)


	29. one i've been missing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god. okay so. this chapter,

“I absolutely _adore_ Christmas, thank you all very much,” Mikey’s sprawled on his shell in the pit, feet tracing shapes in the air as he watches Donnie and Raph finally step away from the Christmas tree. “Y’all ready?” At their nods Mikey twists onto his stomach and reaches for the extension cords, praying furiously under his breath. “Don’t catch on fire don’t catch on fire don’t catch on fire -”

“Do it, Mikey,” Donnie says, and Mikey huffs, connecting the two cords with clenched eyes. When nothing pops, explodes, or catches on fire in the first three seconds, Mikey tentatively opens his eyes, blinking slowly. The evergreen tree that they’d wrangled through the sewer grates and dragged through the (frozen, by now) murky sewer water was now bathed in an array of warm white LED lights that Casey had so graciously spent sixteen dollars on. 

“Oh, it’s beautiful,” Mikey whispers as he pulls himself to his feet, then whoops. “‘Kay, the tree lights work! Now we do the ones ‘round the lair!” 

“Mike, I’ve told you a million times I’m not crawling around on the ceiling just to put lights up -

“S’ fine, I’ve already done them,” Mikey reveals, cutting Raph off with a smug grin. His older brothers look down at him from besides the tree, gobsmacked, and Mikey rolls his eyes. “Seriously, don’t you guys _ever_ look up?”

Donnie and Raph indulge, glancing upwards to see the expanse of lights trailing around the walls nearest the high ceiling, criss-crossing through and over and under pipes and stretching around the entire room. “Wow,” Donnie exhales. “How’d you get them up there?”

“Thumb tacks,” Mikey reveals proudly. A man’s best friend, right after duct tape. Or was it duck tape? The _fuck_ \- 

Donnie looks only mildly concerned, a new feat for him. “You didn’t poke the tacks _through_ the wiring, right?” 

“‘Course not, dude!” Mikey retorts, offended. “M’smarter than that! It took me all day, so a ‘thank you’ would be nice,” he crosses his arms, looking away with a teasing frown. Raph chuckles.

“If the lair lights on fire and we don’t get to enjoy Christmas tonight you’re the first one I’ll ‘thank’,” Raph promises, looking around to see where the lights drooped down to fit into an outlet. “Mike, where’s the -

“Over here,” Mikey bounds over the couch, heading for the kitchen and poking his head in. “Hey, Leo, you all good here?” 

“Fine!” Leo turns, offering him a tired grin. Leo was in charge of the food, since Mikey couldn’t trust Donnie _or_ Raph near their dinner without fear of _really_ setting their home on fire. “Dinner _should_ be ready before the others get here.” 

Oh shit, Mikey almost forgot. April, Casey, Karai, and Shini were coming over. And it was almost nighttime, which meant they had to _finish dinner_. “Doing alright?” Raph says from besides Mikey, leaning on the other door frame with crossed arms as they watch their oldest brother moving around in the kitchen.

“Mm, yeah,” Leo utters distractedly, digging a spoon out and dipping it into the mashed potatoes. He takes a taste and wrinkles his nose. “Leg hurts a bit, though.”

“Which one?” 

Leo gestures down to his previously-paralyzed leg, the only one not wrapped in a cast. “I’ll be fine. ‘Least I can feel it, yeah?”

Mikey furrows his eyes, concerned. “Do you wanna switch? S’fine with me if we do -

“Um…” Leo pauses, considering. Finally he looks up towards his youngest brother. “If it’s not too much to ask - 

“‘Course not! Hey, Dee, do we have any of those painkillers left - oh, hey,” Mikey stutters to a halt as he turns, jumping a bit as his genius brother was literally _right_ behind him.

“Hey,” Donnie snorts in response, pushing between Mikey and Raph to get to Leo. “Started carrying these around after California,” Donnie confesses sheepishly, pulling a pack of pills out of his belt. “Can you tell me how you feel?”

“Great, ‘sides the legs,” Leo gestures towards his legs again, obviously frustrated. “Tired, too. These mashed potatoes are so _stupid_ ,” he complains as Raph and Mikey venture further into the kitchen, Mikey taking the pot and peering inside. 

“Leo, you forgot to drain it,” Mikey giggles as Leo shoots him an exasperated look. “S’ _finee_ , promise, they’re all cooked anyway. Wanna stay in here and help, or do you wanna go back to the couch?”

Leo takes the pills before answering, supporting himself on the counter with a palm as he chases the drugs down with water. “Can I sit on the stool?” 

“Yeah!” Mikey slips past him to the sink, holding a hand out to let the water drain but keeping the potatoes safely inside before plopping it down on the island in front of a stool, reaching into a drawer for a potato masher (Thank you, Dollartree). “Didja do the milk and butter?” 

“Mhm,” Leo points towards the saucepan on their stovetop, where he’d mixed milk and butter together and left it to heat. 

“Great,” Mikey says. “Raph, could you - 

“‘Course,” Raph grabs the saucepan before Mikey could finish his sentence, and Mikey blinks gratefully up at him. Raph just grabbed the fucking _pot_ for him, why was he getting all sappy -

Oh, right, it was _Christmas_! He was allowed to be sappy, shut up.

“‘Kay, Leo babe, we’ve totally _got_ this,” Mikey drawls confidently as he scoots out of the way. Leo takes the stool and Mikey pours the liquid from the saucepan into the potatoes. “Now, you take this,” Mikey hands the potato masher to him as he talks, “n’ you just....mash it, cool?”

“I can do that,” Leo musters up some of that confidence and tightens his grip on the masher, staring down at the bowl with a determined expression. 

“Good, good, _oh shit the lights_ -” Mikey suddenly remembers why he came to the kitchen in the first place and runs to the door, reaching up and grabbing the edge of the lights that dropped down from the ceiling and dangled above the kitchen frame. He stretches onto his toes and just barely manages to fit the cord into the outlet, dropping down firmly onto the soles of his feet as the living room bursts into light. 

His brothers join him by the kitchen entrance, even Leo stumbles to his feet and makes it over to them, scanning their home with stunned expressions. The lair looks magical, fairy lights of all different colors spider-webbing around the entirety of their living room. It bathed them in an ethereal glow, and with the lights from their Christmas tree added into the mix the place looked like a futuristic wonderland. “Can we keep them up all year? There’s all different kinds of settings! Like...there’s even a strobe setting, so we could totally get a rave going up in this bitch -

His brothers start laughing, all three of them, and it makes Mikey’s heart implode (or maybe explode, whatever) at seeing them so deliriously happy. “Let’s just get through dinner first,” Donnie pats the top of Mikey’s head when the laughing subsides, and Mikey pokes a tongue out at him. 

-

“Guys! April n’ Case are almost here,” Donnie yells from the other room, sounding vaguely stressed out. “Karai said she had to attend an emergency meeting so she’ll be here in half an hour - is the food ready?”

“Ummm, what’s your reaction gonna be if I said ‘almost’?” Mikey calls back, exchanging a panicked look with Leo (who was actually quite brilliant at making gravy, surprisingly).

“ _Guys_!” Donnie whines, sounding panicked now. Seconds later he’s at the doorway to the kitchen, taken aback at the actual mess the kitchen was. “Oh my God -

“We’re fine!” Mikey cuts him off hurriedly. “And we’re done with cooking, ish-kinda-sorta,” he gestures towards Leo, who cradled the bowl and mixed the gravy. “N’ the tamales have maybe half an hour before they’re done - 

“We made _tamales_?” Raph shouts, and crashes into the kitchen as he finishes shouting, hungrily scanning the room for the food. “We said we’d never make those again after the disaster last year - 

“What, the disaster where Mikey _ate_ the corn husk instead of unwrapping it?” Leo remembers tiredly, snickering at the pout on Mikey’s face. “Nope, he wanted to make some and he promised up and down he knows how to eat them this time.”

“Thank God,” Raph mutters. Then, louder: “Tamales!” 

“Yes, tamales,” Mikey giggles at the blissed out look on Raph’s face. “Don’t cry, Raph,” he says, because Raph honestly looks like he’s about to. 

“What the _fuck_ happened to the goddamn living room!” A male voice shouts from outside, over by the turnstiles, and the grin drops into a groan. That sounded like - 

“Casey’s here,” Donnie informs them weakly. “So’s April.”

“Hey,” the two humans enter the kitchen seconds later, looking round, again, at the mess that the kitchen was. Mikey throws them a tired wave and props his elbows on the table after taking a seat next to Leo. “Place looks great,” April says warmly, bundled up in at least three sets of clothes. “Glad we’re down here and not topside, honestly. Snowed last night.”

“How many inches?” Donnie asks, apparently over his little freak-out at seeing his partners. 

“Seven,” Casey drags his beanie off and shakes his hair out, splattering little bits of snow everywhere. “Looks like you guys are doing great down here, though. Y’all good, or - 

“A little cold, yeah, but - oh. Wait, April, what _is_ that - 

“One of your Christmas presents!” April pulls neatly wrapped packages out from the bag dangling off her shoulder and hands them to the brothers, making sure to read the tags before giving them out. “From me n’ Casey both.”

“You got us _blankets_?” Mikey squeals, tossing the paper aside and pulling his light orange fleece throw blanket from the packaging, instantly wrapping it around himself. “It’s so _warm_ ,” he purrs, rubbing his cheek into the soft material. 

“We didn’t know what to get with so little time, so we...improvised. April reminded me that y’all are cold-blooded, so the winters are probably killing you,” Casey grins at Donnie as he wrapped his own lavender blanket around his lanky shell, snuggling into it. Raph and Leo were already curled up in theirs, red and ombre-blue respectively. “Leo, where do I put the rest - 

“Under the tree, dummy,” April pushes him gently towards the entrance. “Seriously, don’t you know how Christmas works?”

“Of _course_ I do, s’just, this isn’t our place so I didn’t know whether _our_ presents should go under the tree or not -

“Under the tree is _fine_ ,” Raph rolls his eyes. “Just stop arguing about it - 

“Says _you_ , Raph - 

Sighing, April presses another package into Donnie’s hands. “Fudge,” she says, and Donnie nods, turning and depositing it into the fridge, readjusting the blanket around his shoulders after he does so. Mikey grins around at all of them, at Casey and Raph’s little argument, at Leo’s face as he’s finally finished with the gravy, at April and Donnie’s tired smiles. They felt like an actual family, it was _so_ nice. 

Fuck, he was being sappy again. Mikey pinches the inside of his wrist so he gets the endearing expression off his face and claps loudly. “‘Kay, y’all, Imma need help since most of the food is already ready! Donnie so very nicely allowed us to use one of his spare tables to eat dinner on since we have _eight_ people tonight - 

And it hits Mikey so suddenly and so hard and a very large, very heavy stone settles in his stomach.

It should have been nine people sitting together. But -

Mikey’s eyes sting and his sentence falters only a second before he continues bravely. “...and...yeah. Can y’all help while I check on the tamales?” 

Mikey doesn’t know if they read his expression or heard the desperation in his voice, because seconds later the fridge is cleared and he’s all alone. Mikey turns away from the kitchen door and presses his elbows to the counter, leaning his head into his palms and exhaling shakily.

Well, he _thinks_ he’s alone. “Mikey?” 

Mikey whips around, meeting Raph’s concerned gaze with a startled look of his own. “Oh, um - haha. Sorry, I was just - I was...just,” he shrugs helplessly.

“Hey, Mike. Don’t - s’kay,” he promises, stumbling through his words and struggling to get a coherent sentence out. “C’mere.”

Mikey laughs, a terrible broken sound, and meets his brother’s embrace halfway. Raph presses an affectionate kiss to his scalp and Mikey really does feel like crying. “I miss him, s’ _so_ stupid but I -

“Not stupid at all,” Raph chides softly, and he doesn’t even have to ask to know who the ‘he’ was. “I...miss him too. Hurts, yeah? So much.”

Mikey nods vigorously, head still resting delicately on Raph’s shoulder. “It’s all good for a bit and then it hits again and I’m reminded an’ - 

“I know,” Raph says sympathetically. “We’re here for ya, shell-brain. Don’t - you don’t have to be like that anymore. Hide from us. Doesn’t have to be like it used to be.”

Mikey chokes on the emotion building in his throat and lets the tears soak his cheeks. 

-

When Mikey and Raph finally leave the kitchen, fifteen minutes and thirty seconds later with tamales stacked delicately on a plate and Mikey’s eyes still a bit puffy, no one does anything besides shooting the two of them concerned looks. “You guys okay?” Leo asks.

Mikey nods as he steps down into the pit. “Mhm, just...was a lot, for a sec. I’m good, Raph helped me out. He’s got the first tamale, by the way,” he smiles slightly as Raph nods, stabbing the food and barely managing to slice it into manageable sized bites before devouring it. “His Mexican food addiction is getting out of control.” 

“Hey, you better shut the fuck up,” Raph gets around his tamale, making sure to swallow it before lightly jabbing a finger into Mikey’s side. Mikey giggles and twists away. 

“You know how to eat them this year, right?” Casey asks with a smirk as they take a seat and place the last of the food onto the beautifully decorated wooden table.

“Oh my God, guys, _let it go_ ,” Mikey sighs as they all burst into laughter.

“Hey, we’re here! Sorry we’re so late, Vizioso has literally _no_ Christmas spirit,” Karai pushes through the turnstiles, Shinigami at her side, and behind them walks a Foot-bot, carrying a sack of _something_. “Hope we didn’t miss anything.”

“Not at all, we were just gonna eat, but what -

“Oh, they’re presents,” Shini says, cutting Leo off and taking the bag from the Kraang bot. “Thank you, you can go now,” Shini smiles sweetly, patting the robot’s cheeks, and the robot dutifully turns and disappears back down the tunnels. “Do you know how _heavy_ this is?” she complains, actually struggling to walk as she drops down into the pit. 

Donnie stands and takes the sack from her effortlessly. “You - oh, my God,” Donnie says as he examines the contents of the bag. “Canned goods, medicine, extra scraps - oh, you _guys_!” he glances from the sack to the girls before looking back down again. “This will keep us going for at _least_ a few months - 

“Figured that doing supply runs would be brutal in this weather, so - 

“Thank you,” Donnie says gratefully, mirrored by his brothers. “You don’t know how much this means to us.”

“I’m pretty sure I have a good idea,” Karai laughs, entangling her younger (but taller) brother in a hug. “Let’s eat?” She glances hopefully at the table after they separate.

“Mm, _yes_ please,” Mikey calls, his family situating themselves around the table as Donnie delicately places the rucksack on the couch, still in disbelief about how Karai and Shinigami basically just _saved their lives_. Scavenging was very dangerous this time of year, the ice and the wind and the freezing temperatures detrimental to the brothers.

When they’re all seated, the eight of them, warm and happy and ready to dig in, Leo holds a glass up. “‘Fore we eat, I just wanna say something. We’ve been through a lot this year, we’ve...lost people. Lost things. Fought battles and won battles and lost some, too. But I’m happy. I really, really am. I - to us. To a better year,” Leo holds up his glass, filled almost to the brim with hot chocolate, and they’re all too happy to oblige, lifting their own glasses in retaliation. 

Finally they’re loading their plates, and Mikey makes sure to scan the table before he picks anything out. Besides the tamales and mashed potatoes lathered with gravy, there’s bread rolls, baked ham slices glazed with brown sugar, and even Mikey’s own concoction - stovetop pizza with avocado and roasted cherry tomatoes. It all looked and smelled heavenly, so Mikey decided to get a bit of everything. 

No one talks for a bit, hunger overcoming the need for conversation, but then a bit of the bread goes down the wrong pipe and Casey starts choking. He’s okay, of course, but Raph’s sent into a fit of hysterics at the look on Casey’s face and it gets the rest of them to laugh. “I hope we talk about _that_ one n-next year,” Raph wheezes, dabbing at his eyes with a napkin, and Mikey starts giggling harder as Casey sends the red-banded turtle a furious look, rubbing his throat tiredly. “That was so fu-funny - oh my -

He takes one look at Casey and dissolves into laughter again.

Sighing resolutely, Karai sends a smile over the table to April. “The lair looks nice,” she says casually as Raph howls.

Fighting a smirk down, April struggles to maintain her composure. “Yeah, I heard Mikey put them all up.”

“I did indeed,” Mikey induges in a bit of baked ham. “Took me all day,” he reveals proudly.

“They look fantastic, Mikey,” Shinigami compliments, and Mikey preens. 

“Raph, _stop_ , it wasn’t even that funny -

“It was _hilarious_!” Raph all but squeals. “Oh my god, I need my camera - Casey, do it again - 

“You want me to choke _again_?” Casey deadpans, and Raph nods furiously, now searching through his belt. 

“Wait, not yet, let me get my phone first -

“I hate this entire family so fucking much,” Donnie sighs before scooping some mashed potatoes into his mouth. Leo rubs his shoulders sympathetically.

“Least we’ve all moved on from the tamale incident,” Mikey mutters.

-

_I’m sorry I ain’t been around_

_But you’ve been on my mind a million times_

_I’ll make it up to you now,_

_We’ll wrap the presents and put up the tree together_

_Be together_

_Baby, there’s no better gift_

_And now that I have you here,_

_That’s when I feel it the most -_

  
  
  


“Shut the _fuck_ up I love this song,” Casey yells, dragging Mikey up from the couch and sweeping him into a dance, Mikey immediately joining in and laughing as Casey tries to twirl him. “Cause I need to show you how much I love you this Christmas -

“Is it the lights in your eyes? They’ve never shone so _brightttt_ ,” Mikey agrees and snags Donnie, pulling him into their dance and whooping when Donnie makes no move to sit back down. 

“You guys are so out of tune,” is all he says, rolling his eyes, and to their surprise he joins in, voice as magical as it was on that Oregon beach. “I’ve waited all year to be near to the one I’ve been missing - 

“ _T_ _his Christmas_!” They all chorus, still twirling around and snickering. “To the one I’ve been missing -

“They’ve lost it,” Raph watches, face full of mirth, and he’s _definitely_ recording this time, alongside April. Shinigami’s laughing as she watches, pressed against her girlfriend, and Leo just chuckles and turns the music up louder as they enter the next verse.

“I feel too lonely to sleep,” Mikey hiccups brokenly, pointing at the still seated members of their family dramatically. “Boy, when you’re on the wrong side of the world - 

“Now with the snow at our _feeeeet_ , we’ll sit by the fire and we’ll set the scene - 

“Together!” Mikey and Donnie yell.

“Dream - 

“Together!” Mikey and Donnie repeat, snorting almost drunkenly. 

“Baby there’s no better gift! And now that I have you here, that’s when I feel it the _mostttt_ -

“Did someone spike their hot chocolate or were they always like this?” Karai asks breathlessly as Casey tries to dip Donnie but it doesn’t really work and they both go down, a tangled mess of limbs as they leave Mikey to do the chorus. 

“Cuz I’ve been gone so long, but I kept holding _onn_ ,” Mikey sings seriously, attempting the high notes but giving up immediately as Donnie starts cracking up from his place under Casey. 

“B-babe, stop _laughing_ ,” Casey stammers, grinning goofily as Donnie just laughs harder. “Listen, I know I have stick figure arms -

“ _Stoppp_ ,” Donnie shrieks, sounding more like a three year old instead of the eighteen year old he really was. “Get offa’ me, we’ve gotta _preform_ \- 

“I’ve waited all year to be near to the one I’ve been missing,” Mikey’s still twirling around as Donnie manages to get Casey off and rise shakily to his feet as his youngest sings the next lyrics. “This Christmas -

“To the one I’ve been missing,” Casey joins in from the floor, face-down against the tile. 

“This Christmas!” Mikey and Donnie sing.

“To the one I’ve been missing - _to the one I’ve been missing_ \- 

“You’re the one I’ve been missing - 

“To the one I’ve been missing - 

“You’re the -” Mikey coughs violently. “- one I’ve been missing!” 

“To the _onee_ \- _yeahhhhhh -_ ” Donnie attempts the high note and _succeeds_ , belting it out like the popstar they all knew he secretly was, then clamps his mouth shut and he looks _so_ startled that his voice hadn’t cracked. Mikey starts clapping. 

“To the one...I’ve been missing.” Casey chimes in, still face down on the floor, and the song _finally_ ends. He rolls over. “Wooh, gang karaoke night, that shit was _fun_!” 

“Can we never do that again,” Donnie begs, and everyone starts laughing. “Stop f-fucking laughing, m’ gonna puke - 

“S’why I brought a bucket,” Mikey pulls a bucket out of virtually nowhere and hands it to Donnie.

Donnie raises an eyeridge, looking from the bucket to Mikey and back to the bucket. “Bro.”

“Bro,” Mikey replies, raising his own eyeridge. 

“Bro,” Donnie says, and promptly pukes in his new bucket. 

“Oh, _gross_ \- 

“ _Donnie_ \- 

“Guys, I got that on camera!” 

“ _Raph, no -_

-

Once they’ve all settled down on the couches, the brothers in their new blankets and the puke-bucket nowhere in sight, they finally decide to do presents. Karai gets a new sword and a sharpener to go with it (modeled after the one she tried to steal when she and Leo first met, which Karai finds absolutely hilarious) and a heating lamp - Donnie mentioned that it’d be great for Karai’s scales when she transforms into her snake side, especially during winter. Shini gets a new lipstick set, a hair curler, and cat ears, and the latter she puts on immediately.

Donnie gets a Kindle and an actual coffee brewer, Leo gets candles and an oil diffuser, as well as the full Space Heroes set (which Raph immediately tried to take to burn but didn’t get far, unfortunately), Mikey got a Dutch oven, a cheese board, and a new neon-orange sketchbook, and Raph got an a new weight set and over-ear sports headphones, so he could work out and still listen to music. 

April was gifted a pure black tracksuit from Karai and Shini, one with _pockets_ \- which she thanked profusely for because god damn was it hard to conceal weapons without pockets - and she gets a newer, sharper tanto blade engraved with her name and more shuriken, because she loved them and just kept running out. She also gets a thick yellow sweatshirt and matching fluffy earmuffs, which she plops over her head to rival Shini and looks _ridiculous_ but also adorable so they don’t beg for her to take them off.

And last but not least, Casey gets a whole new wooden set of hockey sticks and pucks, plus new skates and an actual _helmet_ (which Casey states very seriously that he’s not going to use until Donnie threatens to sit on him) and everyone’s laughing and thanking each other and Mikey thinks dreamily that this must be the best Christmas ever. 

“Let’s do this one more time!” 

“Donnie, no - oh my God - 

“I wanna rock with somebody!” Donnie sings, and as Mikey stares his older brother starts clapping to a nonexistent beat. Leo’s face is buried in his hands.

“Donnie, _please_ \- 

“I wanna take shots with somebody!” Donnie yells louder, grinning. 

“Shots, shots, shots!” Casey and Raph echo, clapping along with Donnie.

“Is he singing _Whitney Houston_?” Mikey asks disbelievingly. April shrugs helplessly. 

“I wanna lay with somebody -

“Okay, _fine_ , we can get flatout drunk, just stop singing - 

“With somebody who _loveeeeeeeeeeesssssss meeeeeeeee_ -

“Great, Donnie with alcohol. I’m so excited,” April sighs.

“Are we completely sure he isn’t drunk already?” Karai asks in a stage whisper, leaning closer to April and Mikey, and the latter giggles. 

Definitely the best Christmas ever. 

“Hey, Karai, Shini, you guys wanna see our tattoos?”

“You guys got _tattoos_ -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ACTUALLY WROTE THIS ONE BEFORE THE TATTOO CHAPTER BECAUSE I WAS SO UNMOTIVATED TO ACTUALLY WRITE THEM GETTING TATTOOS I PUT IT OFF FOR AN ENTIRE WEEK
> 
> and then i was like. okay if i do the christmas chapter maybe i'll finally get motivation
> 
> and THEN I DID im literally a genius donnie 2.0 who's proud
> 
> also i know it's only november rn but i absolutely love christmas it's my favorite thing ever and half of the antics in here are based off of true events LMFOSDFLSF
> 
> THIS WAS ALSO AN EXCUSE JUST TO WRITE COMPLETE FLUFF because they literally deserve the entire world i adore them all look at my happy kids AND DRUNKISH NOT REALLY DONNIE IM KISSING U SO HARD RN crying shaking


	30. new years interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :,)

angelo: ID RATHER BE DRY BUT AT LEAST IM ALIVEEEEEE

angelo: rain on me RAIN RAIN RAIN ON ME RAIN RAIN 

angelo: ID RATHER BE DRY BUT AT LEAST IM ALIVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?????

RAphael: oh my god choke and die

angelo: shut up RAIN ON ME RAIN RAIN

basket-case: LADY GAGA? AND ARIANA GRANDE? WE DOIN THIS MIKEY??

angelo: YES???? omg funny story

RAphael: @april 1st @c3do @leonardo dicaprio if i have to suffer through this shitty ass story so do you

angelo: shut up raph anyway casey leo found a just dance in the dumpster and it WORKS so guess what we did friday night

basket-case: you don’t have a ps4??? 

angelo: LMFAO UR FORGETTING WHO WE LIVE WITH

c3do: yes

c3do: me

c3do: a genius

angelo: shut up donnie anyway casey PLEASFDLJEF YOU’LL NEVER BELIEVE WHO CAN ACTUALLY DANCE

basket-case: is it raph

angelo: ALKFJSDFSDKAJGNVMDLSFSLMFOAJFSEIKLSDFKSF;LFKFDSLFDKSFD NOOOOOO HE FUCKING SUCKS

RAphael: im going to kill you

basket-case: DOBNT TELL ME ITS LEO???

angelo: KINDA?? LIKE EVEN WITH HIS INJURY HE’S BETTER THAN RAPH LMFSAOFIPSKFDS

RAphael: im literally going to snap your neck

basket-case: so ur saying DONNIE’S GOT THE MOVES??????? YOU ARE joking. Oh my god no way

c3do: …

basket-case: MIKEY SEND A VIDEO RN OR UR LYING????

angelo: OKAY HOLD ON ALSO U CAN SEE TONIGHT LMFAO ARENT U AND APRIL SPENDING THE NIGHT

angelo: i mean...it is new years….

basket-case: LMFAO I STILL WANT THE VIDEO IM GONNA MAKE IT MY LIVE WALLPAPER ON MY PHONE

c3do: michelangelo dont you fucking dare

c3do: what happened to b team supremacy???

angelo: hmm tempting argument but

_angelo sent a video to the chat!_

c3do: NO

basket-case: JKDSALFSDFJLFJKDFS donnie do you listen to kpop

angelo: he practically begged us to put that one song on by blackpink

angelo: THE ONE WITH SELENA GOMEZ HELP HE WAS LIKE think u fly boy where your visa mona lisa kinda lisa needs an ice cream man that treats her hey NA NA NA NANANANA NANA ICE ON MY WRIST YEAH I LIKE IT LIKE THIS

c3do: MIKEY?????

RAphael: can we kill him

c3do: let me get a rocket launcher 

basket-case: DONNIES A KPOPPIE?????????? WTFF?????

c3do: NO I JUST LIKE THE SONGS IM NOT A KPOPPIE NO STOP CASEY PALLEDKFFS

basket-case: @april 1st APRIL APRIL OUR BOYFRIEND IS A KPOPPIEFJFLGTKDETDG

april 1st: omg sick do u like blackpink’s music donnie

c3do: what if i said

c3do: maybe??

april 1st: ur my favorite boyfriend

basket-case: what the fu

basket-case: WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON 

c3do: SCORE 

c3do: take that jones eat a dick

c3do: dont actually eat a dick oh my god im gagging

angelo: imagining a dick….as a hot dog….

RAphael: please stop talking im fucking begging you

angelo: LMFAODIGJLDGLS THE SPERMIES

RAphael: WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST SAY

leonardo dicaprio: hello family

angelo: okay but isnt it funny how like when u have hetero sex

c3do: oh god here we go

basket-case: imagine how tired we are of this shit

angelo: like omg. like u literally put a pee stick in a hole??

april 1st: A PEE STICK SDLFKJFSDGKL

leonardo dicaprio: . why do i always open the gc at the worst moments

angelo: LIKE LMFAO HUMANS CAME FROM A TINY ASS EGG SACK THAT WAS ATTACKED BY SPERMIES!!!!!!!!!!! 

basket-case: THE HORROR

c3do: who the fuck gave him sex ed again

RAphael: you forced us to do it remember 

c3do: oh right i remember 

c3do: mikey listen

c3do: thats not how babies are made

angelo: ITS NOT??? WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MENA???

angelo: spermy attacks egg :(

c3do: babies don’t come from egg sacks

angelo: so it’s not like monsters vs aliens the movie

c3do: unfortunately no

angelo: god why cant we have anything

leonardo dicaprio: OH SO I WAS LOOKING THROUGH THE CHAT SYSTEM YESTERDAY

leonardo dicaprio: you guys know how casey mikey and raph’s phones were destroyed in the crash and donnie gave them spares right….

leonardo dicaprio: THE SPARES ARE OLDER MODELS

c3do: LEO WHERE ARE YOU GOING WITH THIS

leonardo dicaprio: we can react to messages

_leonardo dicaprio liked “LEO WHERE ARE YOU GOING WITH THIS”_

leonardo dicaprio: BUT THEY CANT

angelo: what the fuck

_leonardo dicaprio liked “what the fuck”_

april 1st: HELPPPDFOSPFODPO

_april 1st laughed at “liked” “what the fuck” ”_

_leonardo dicaprio liked “laughed at” “liked” “what the fuck” “”_

c3do: OH MY GOF

_c3do questioned “liked” “laughed at” “liked” “what the fuck” “””_

_april 1st laughed at “questioned” “liked” “laughed at” “liked” “what the fuck” “”””_

angelo: STOPSLKFDSJFD

basket-case: im already so tired of this please never use it again

_leonardo dicaprio laughed at “im already so tired of this please never use it again”_

_april 1st laughed at “laughed at” “im already so tired of this please never use it again” “_

_c3do laughed at “laughed at” “laughed at” “im already so tired of this please never use it again” “”_

angelo: omg raph make them stop

RAphael: I CANT??? IM NOT ADMIN

_c3do laughed at “laughed at” “laughed at” “laughed at” “im already so tired of this please never use it again” “”””_

_april 1st laughed at “laughed at” “laughed at” “laughed at” “laughed at” “im already so tired of this please never use it again” “””””_

angelo: this is not funny wtf

basket-case: i cant believe they’re doing this to us

angelo: literal child abuse wtf

_leonardo dicaprio questioned “literal child abuse wtf”_

_c3do laughed at “questioned” “literal child abuse wtf” “_

RAphael: FUCKING STOP 

angelo: we were in a traumatic experience and ur using it to bully us because we have lesser models...so cruel..

c3do: oh dont worry mikey ill update those phones….

c3do: eventually…

_april 1st laughed at “eventually…”_

\--

“You ready for tonight, babe?” Casey leans against the railing of the stairs leading up to the entrance of April’s apartment, watching with a fond grin as she locks the door, shaking the knob a couple times for good measure. She flicks him a cool look, probably realizing the innuendos behind those words, but Casey just smirks and holds a gloved hand out. She takes it, snuggling into his side as they walk to their usual entrance into the sewer system. Snow kissed the top of their heads and slid down their cheeks, sticking to the bottoms of their shoes and their hoodies as they walked. “How much would you bet the brothers would laugh instead of help if I stuck my tongue to one of those poles,” Casey murmurs, readjusting the bag hanging from his other shoulder, and April laughs lightly.

“More money than you have, Jones,” she teases lightly, laying her head on his shoulder. “Well, Donnie would probably help first, after he picks himself off the ground from laughing so hard. Leo, Mike, and Raph would either lose their shit or let you suffer. Probably both.”

“Unfair,” Casey complains. “You guys are no help, I’d probably get hypothermia.”

“Yeah, but Dee and I would be there to warm you up afterwards, wouldn’t we?” April counters cheekily, grinning as Casey stiffens at that implication. “What, you dish but you can’t take? You - 

Casey interrupts her, angling her head upwards with his other hand, pressing a quick kiss to her plump lips. She rests a hand on his upper torso, smiling into the kiss and tilting her head to the side so he had better access.

Once they pull away from eachother, Casey leans in closer so their noses are touching. “I can dish it _and_ take it, babe.” 

April snickers and slaps his shoulder gently, curling into his side again as they resumed walking. There was truly nothing better than - 

A bark cuts his train of thought off, and April and Casey pause, exchanging glances. They venture a little further into the alleyway, stepping lightly across the snow. The bark sounded close - and high pitched - which could mean it was injured. April breaks away from Casey as there’s suddenly a pleading howl, and drops to her knees, soaking her pants as she moved closer to where the howl came from. 

Under the dumpster is a honest to god puppy, dazed and most definitely injured - blood matting the scraps of fur that still clung to the poor thing. April reaches and takes them in her arms, pulling it back out of the damp crevice and huddling it close to her chest, stumbling back over to Casey as the dog howls again. “They - she,” April glances downwards to confirm, “Got hit by something big, probably a _car_ , look at her front paw - oh, Casey - 

“Come on, let’s get Donnie to take a look at her,” Casey moves quickly, pulling the manhole back to let April go down the ladder. Somehow she manages with one hand, Casey following as she steps away and waits for him, pulling the manhole back over his head and dropping the couple feet down to rejoin his girlfriend. They run the rest of the way there - the dog shivering against her, and she wraps her jacket around her to protect her from the slight breeze the sewers offered. Finally, after what feels like literal ages, they reach the turnstiles, and Casey and April run in. 

“Oh hey, you guys are early, we weren’t expecting you for another - 

April cuts Leo off, uncovering the dog so he could see. “We were coming down and we found a dog under a dumpster and it’s hurt really bad we need to see Donnie like right _now_ ,” she says, and Leo just gestures towards the lab, hissing under his breath at his injury as he follows at a much slower pace.

Mikey and Raph are already in the lab, bothering Donnie about something, but April and Casey coming in certainly gets them all to look up. “What happened?” Donnie asks urgently as April slowly lowers the dog on his lab table. 

“We were coming down and we found her under a dumpster,” April says, wringing her hands out anxiously as she takes a step away from her boyfriend. “Her front leg is broken, see? I think she’s got hypothermia, too.”

“She does,” Donnie confirms. “Okay, the lab is usually set to 97 degrees, so it should be warm enough - I need blankets right away - Mikey?”

“On it,” The youngest takes off. The dog whines again, her tiny tail thumping weakly against the table. 

“Shh, it’s okay,” Donnie pets her scrappy and uneven fur gently. “She’s malnourished. Hit by a car, just by the state of these fractures... definitely a stray. She wouldn’t have survived the night,” Donnie glances up at them briefly before examining the puppy further. “She was really lucky you guys were there.”

Casey remembers another lucky car crash survivor and side-eyes Leo, who’s staring down at the dog with genuine pain and sympathy circling through his dark blue irises. “Can you save her?” he asks quietly.

“I’m going to try,” Donnie pushes loose papers and other items off the table so he’s got more room to work. “I’m going to need help, though, especially with keeping her still. She’s terrified and might start thrashing around, so - 

“Hey, Dee, relax, it’s okay. You’re not in that barn, we’re all here, we’re at home, you’ve got everything you need. Just tell us how to help,” Raph reaches out with his left arm, tattoo flashing briefly against his dark skin before he entangles his brother in a side hug. Donnie leans into it for a moment before pulling away, looking a bit more focused and a lot more determined. 

“Okay, I’m gonna need - gauze, a lot of gauze - for her open injuries. I have the padding, okay. I’m just gonna need to make another splint, fuck. This whole situation is _just_ like Leo’s, minus the fact that she’s starving. She needs food - oh, thanks, Mike,” Donnie utters distractedly as Mikey returns with those blankets. Donnie lathers the dog with a couple, tucking them in close to her and rubbing her body soothingly so he could talk to his family. “Listen. Mikey, Leo, you guys are the only ones that can actually cook, so I -

“You’ve got it,” Mikey says again, but Donnie holds a hand before they could go.

“She needs something nutritional, and a _lot_ of it - I can’t even guess the last time she’s eaten. Chicken, cooked - and eggs, probably scrambled. Warm milk. Do we have all of that?” Donnie asks, not moving his gaze from the whimpering dog. At least her shivering is starting to subside, an improvement to this shitty situation.

Mikey nods. “We should be fine,” he nods, and Donnie breathes out a sigh of relief. 

“Okay, good. Please hurry,” he adds, and Mikey and Leo turn for the door. “Okay,” he glances up to the remaining three. “Gauze, and Raph - can you grab those wood pieces from the far wall? Thanks, guys.” Casey moves to Donnie’s side as his brother and their girlfriend move to get the requested items. “This feels really fucking familiar,” Donnie mutters tiredly, and Casey rubs his shell. 

“Probably because you helped save Leo’s life in the same way barely two weeks ago,” Casey reminds him softly, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. “You’re doing great, okay? She’s gonna be fine. She - oh, wait, fuck, my aunt had one of these dogs,” Casey leans in closer, scratching the dog behind her thick, pointy ears. “She’s an Australian Terrier. Make great watchdogs, actually. And they like hunting rats and snakes.”

“Good thing Splinter and Karai aren’t…” the joke falls flat before Donnie can even fully finish it and Casey sighs, feeling that familiar spark of grief that came with Splinter’s name. Luckily April and Raph return before Casey can try to say anything consoling, because damn it he doesn’t really know if this is the goddamn _time_ \- 

“Okay, girl, we’re gonna get you all fixed up,” Donnie promises gently as he slowly removes the blankets. She nuzzles into his olive green hand as he briefly pets her forehead, and the hint of a smile appears on his face. God, Casey loved him. “We really should give you a name, though.”

“Shouldn’t we wait for Mikey to get back? You know how he gets about names,” Raph chuckles as he tears a piece of gauze off the roll and carefully wraps a leg - which had a nasty tear down the back. “Actually, knowing Mikey, he’d probably name her something stupid. Debbie. Brenda.”

“Can’t argue with that logic,” Donnie says as he quickly fashions a splint, leaning out of the way so April can add padding to the fractured leg. “I can think of a lot of better names. Aretha. Arwen. Jade.”

“Jade?” April asks.

“Aurora.” Donnie looks back down to the splint.

“Katniss.” Raph offers. 

“We are _not_ naming the dog Katniss,” Casey interrupts, and she whimpers at that, hopefully in agreement. “I like the A names, though. Aurora’s pretty sick.”

“I liked Jade,” April sighs, but concedes. “Aurora _is_ pretty cool.” 

“Mhm, are we in agreement? Aurora?” Donnie glances again towards the terrier, who extends her only unoccupied paw to brush against his deftly moving fingers. “I think she likes it. Mikey’s gonna kill us.”

“Probably,” April shrugs, stepping back so Donnie had more room to work, moving towards Aurora’s head and laughing softly when she laps at the offered pale fingers. “Much better than _Susaroni_ , anyway.”

-

A couple hours later, when Aurora’s all bandaged up and has eaten every single dish the oldest and youngest Hamato brother respectively have brought her, and they've all played a few rounds of the new Just Dance and they’re all curled up in the living room, lazily searching through the channels until they find the one where the gigantic ball drops, Casey glances at the time. “Eleven fifty-five,” he announces, slowly dragging a hand through Aurora’s patchy fur (she’d draped herself across April, Donnie, and Casey, quickly deeming the three of them to be her favorites, and they’d quickly accepted the new responsibility of being a parent - a _dog_ parent, mind you). “Everyone make a wish.”

“That’s literally not how it works,” Leo throws an empty chip bag at him, and Casey thwacks it out of the air. “But sure, I’ll go first. I hope we have a good year next year, that we don’t lose anyone important.”

“Good wish, boring execution,” Raph judges, nudging Mikey with his foot. “Mike, don’t go to sleep yet. You’ve gotta stay up till twelve.”

“M’not sleeping!” Mikey says sleepily, rolling over on his shell. “I wish that...mm, there’s lots of pizza next year.”

“I wish that Donnie would update our phones so they don’t terrorize us with that reaction shit,” Casey murmurs. 

“Oh, that’s a good one. I’m changing my wish.”

“I’m adding onto Leo’s wish and hoping that we don’t get pulled out of retirement,” April leans against Donnie’s shoulder, yawning. 

“Yeah, don’t send us a - _hnngh_ \- new army or something,” Raph stretches his arms over his head and yawns, too. “I love beating shit up, though. Don’t get it twisted.”

“We could never,” Donnie counters tiredly. “I don’t have a wish. I just want things to stay the way they are...just us, our pets, and - well, us being safe. Maybe a new wrench. Yeah, I wish for a new wrench.”

“Only two minutes before the _biiiiiiiiiig_ drop,” the news reporter points excitedly at the big ball perching on its support system. “Two minutes before the new year!” The crowd in the background jeers excitedly. 

“One of these days we should really go and actually watch that thing drop,” Leo says, eyes trained on the television. His family nods in agreement. Leo lays down, sideways, face plunged into a pillow. “Eh, next year.” 

“Hey, don’t people usually kiss during the new year thingy?” Casey suddenly asks Donnie and April, and they both look at each other and then him, both sporting raised eyebrows. “This is gonna be awkward, how the fuck do three people kiss at the same time?”

“Just smash your faces together, dude. I don’t know. You better figure it out quickly, you have thirty-five seconds,” Mikey says, very helpful like always. 

Casey groans in annoyance, hesitates for a split second, then, leans sideways. “April, c’mere.” She leans towards him, grinning, and Donnie leans forward, interested. “Oh, this is gonna be weird...fuck it. Don’t look, Aurora.” 

April giggles, Donnie cracks a smile, and as Mikey, Raph, and Leo start counting down from ten, Casey reflects briefly on the entire year.

Losing New York. 

_Nine_.

Traveling through literal _space and time_ and just barely managing to get their home back.

 _Eight_.

Telling Donnie and April how he felt, being surprised, so surprised that they’d felt the same way back.

 _Seven_.

Having their greatest enemy lose his Clan and their greatest ally build it back up.

_Six._

Losing the most important father figure Casey thinks he’s ever had.

_Five._

Killing the man that had haunted them all for so long. 

_Four_. 

Breaking apart, way too far apart, because the pain almost broke them. Almost.

_Three._

Coming back together, realizing what it meant to be a family. 

_Two._

Casey realizes that he really wouldn’t trade any of it, not a single thing -

_One -_

Laughing, Casey leans forward and messily kisses two of the most important people in his life - while the other three scream and whoop and jump around like complete idiots, their pets confused but joining in on the action (be it a meow, a bark, or just a wayward jab of fire). 

Happy New Year, indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH I CANT WAIT TO TORTURE THEM AGAIN MY FINGERS ARE ITCHING FOR ANGST
> 
> i have a big family: three dogs, three cats. considering that the gang only has chompy and ick...well, aurora is gonna be that bitch, thank u


	31. hey

leonardo dicaprio: hey hi hello are you guys alive

april 1st: oh my god leo STOP

april 1st: ITS BEEN TWO MINUTES SINCE YOU LAST ASKED THAT WE’RE FINE

leonardo dicaprio: IM WORRIED OKAY???? 

leonardo dicaprio: this is the first ANYTHING you guys are doing without me let me be nervous

c3do: leo 

c3do: listen 

c3do: we’ve been on this roof for three hours

c3do: and mikey’s just doing tiktok dances while the rest of us stake out

RAphael: i hate him so much

RAphael: he’s just doing the renegade ten million times do you know how badly i wanna strangle him

angelo: STOP MESSAGING ME UR BLOCKING THE SCREEN LET ME DO MY DANCES IN PEACE

RAphael: WE’RE SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING THE AREA

angelo: oh my god raph please we’ve been on this roof for hoursssssssss

angelo: there’s nothing even

leonardo dicaprio: aren’t you guys patrolling??

RAphael: well. we were

RAphael: until we found where rahzar and all of his little friends are hiding out

RAphael: im still upset that they didn’t die out after shredder 

RAphael: we’re just waiting until they come out at this point

basket-case: raph man i love you but they AREN’T COMING OUT

leonardo dicaprio: you guys can just come back we can put a movie on

leonardo dicaprio: do you know how boring it is sitting here 

leonardo dicaprio: ALONE

leonardo dicaprio: IN THE LAIR

leonardo dicaprio: WITH NO ONE BUT OUR PETS KEEPING ME COMPANY

angelo: aw babe :( m sorry

angelo: have u meditated already

leonardo dicaprio: no actually i probably should

leonardo dicaprio: i took a nap and shit but that’s about it

leonardo dicaprio: ugh being paralyzed and then not paralyzed but still not being able to DO anything sucks

april 1st: so true

april 1st: we miss you actually

april 1st: raph you know we adore you but having you as leader is just

RAphael: i get it

RAphael: i talk so much shit and get into leo’s face about it but im just not made for leader 

RAphael: ive always been more hands on insteada figuring out plans and shit

RAphael: i have literally no idea what to do

c3do: s not your fault raph quit it

c3do: the team just works better with all of us together that’s how it’s always been

c3do: when one of us is missing you can just. tell 

april 1st: it sucks

basket-case: right

basket-case: hey i wanted to ask but

basket-case: why are we so much more

basket-case: idk?? open??

basket-case: ever since the vacation last year and the accident

basket-case: i can’t be the only one who noticed that things changed

c3do: well traumatic experiences always bring people either closer or farther apart

c3do: case in point. us after splinter died

leonardo dicaprio: us after we got in a car accident

angelo: was that really only a month ago

c3do: fuck that’s insane

angelo: so true bestie

april 1st: what even is this conversation 

angelo: idk bae but its on like donkey kong

april 1st: WHAT

angelo: thats my new thing

basket-case: thats a horrible thing. 

angelo: omfg casey stfu before i backhand you

c3do: not again can we have TWO minutes with no threats of hitting eachother

angelo: no. donnie you shut up too

c3do: come here you little fucker im gonna kill you

RAphael: you guys are actually insane

april 1st: lol GUYSSS FINALLY SOMETHINGS HAPPENIGNNDFJK

april 1st: y’all see bebop and rocksteady down there PLSADL;LKFJDSFS

angelo: bigboob and rock steady. 

angelo: dick

angelo: wait

basket-case: STOP WHY IS THAT FUNNY

leonardo dicaprio: i. please. You guys are going to die

angelo: SHUT UP LEO go touch some grass or something

april 1st: WHAT IS WRONG WITH USSLKJFDS 

c3do: i think it’s just setting in. that rocksteady is a fucking rhino. And bebop is a WARTHOG

angelo: I CANT BREATJKEESKDFSL IM LOSIGN IT

leonardo dicaprio: guys we’ve been fighting them for like. two years by now - 

angelo: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

basket-case: STOPDFOKSPOFKSPOFKOSP

RAphael: leo HELP ME IM DEALING WITH CHILDREN

leonardo dicaprio: WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO RAPH. IM DISABLED

RAphael: I DONT KNOW GROUND THEM OR SOME SHIT

leonardo dicaprio: okay FINE. all of you are grounded. except raph

angelo: BAHWAWHODSJAKLDALKDJAKL oh noooo HE’S GROUNDING US

c3do: i have to PEE

basket-case: bebop and peesteady

angelo: IMFGONNA PASS OUT

april 1st: noOOO guys be serious lol gotta be careful THE WARTHOG RHINO DUO IS COMING FOR US

basket-case: WHY ARE OUR LIVES SO FUCKING STUPID WHATS THE REASON. WHY ARE WE STAKED OUT ON A ROOF WATCHING THESE MFKAS. WHAT DO BIGBOOB AND PEESTEADY DO FOR SOCIETY

angelo: FORMESK SOCIETy>?@!$

RAphael: why are you guys acting like this what drugs are you on

leonardo dicaprio: its literally the first patrol in like. three months. plus you’ve been patrolling for literally five hours

basket-case: can we go home raph my ass is freezing

c3do: like. your literal ass or

basket-case: no my figurative ass

c3do: what does that even mean

angelo: i dunno but its on like donkey kong

basket-case: SHUT UP

april 1st: hey when we get back to the lair can we get drunk again that was FUNN

leonardo dicaprio: no.

april 1st: leo im older than you. casey and i BOTH are actually

april 1st: WHY ARENT WE IN CHARGE

basket-case: omfg babe that’s actually so true we’re like

basket-case: wait how old are we again

april 1st: 199

april 1st: NINEYEEN

basket-case: right t and the brothers are like

basket-case: anyway

angelo: we’re 18. legal adults

angelo: which means. leo you arent the boss lol

angelo: TAKING OVER

leonardo dicaprio: oh my fucking god stop you clearly cannot handle leadership

basket-case: here we go again

basket-case: classic leo lecture

c3do: good thing we can just turn our phones off and ignore him now 

angelo: THATS SO RUDE

angelo: lets do it

leonardo dicaprio: .

RAphael: i think the children are rebelling, leo

leonardo dicaprio: god they’ve hit their peak in puberty haven’t they

RAphael: its a bit wild

leonardo dicaprio: just bring them back 

leonardo dicaprio: man you know i love you but i don’t trust you to keep eyes on all of them at the same time

RAphael: aye aye captain

leonardo dicaprio: god the new year has absolutely ruined all of you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey im back whats happening
> 
> soz this is actually such a short chapter but i abandoned this fic for like two months so LEZ GET BACK INTO IT


End file.
